


Pradesh Prompts

by Nightmare Senshi (Saraphin)



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Desna1, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other, Pradesh Family - Freeform, Pradeshverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-07-05 15:00:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 109
Words: 117,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15865983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saraphin/pseuds/Nightmare%20Senshi
Summary: Starting with Pradesh Week and following Along with more Prompts as we go to keep the brain working and free of clutter. Inspired by Desna1s Pradesh family, her work, her world and everything involving the Pradesh boys





	1. Pradesh Week Prompts

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Light Of The Sea](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15756537) by [Desna1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desna1/pseuds/Desna1). 



> I do not Own Fairy Tail. There would be less abuse that is simply put off as "Comedy"...and the story would be a lot Darker period.
> 
> I do not Own The Pradesh Family, That belongs to Desna1.
> 
> I own the Story Seeds. These are Free to Use...as LONG as I see what is come from them. A message (a comment here, or a message on Discord - Dante Haiwindo #0001) would be very nice.
> 
> All Pairings are Random. I don't start out looking for a single pairing to go into a Prompt, I take the prompt, sit down with a drink, put on a timer and 5-10 minutes later...what is posted is posted.
> 
> I own Hestor and his quirkiness after months of developing him alongside Desna for various works. I own a few OCs here and there, Cida Gousille, Liljana/Lily, Melina, Zuri, the keys that I came up with.

Prasesh Week 2018 

The joys of the wonderful OCs that Desna has gifted us all with. I'm trying my hand to see what I can concoct.

Day 1: Shatter

Day 2: Lick

Day 3: summit

Day 4: concede

Day 5: Particular

Day 6: Huge

Day 7: Doxy

Bonus Day: brimstone.

I'll have to see where the muses lead me, they always tend to be strange. It'll be a series of Random One Shots, I think.

Only Time I'll say this: I don't own Fairy Tail Characters; I don't know the Pradesh Clan.

If I owned Fairy Tail…well Lucy wouldn't be abused as she was. That's all I have to say.


	2. Shatter

There had been many an issue with Zen and celestial mages, enough that the Pradesh family was wary of them on the whole, but one such mage simply broke down that wariness in a few words.

Zen had instantly been drawn to Lucy and the small woman had been wide eyed even as her own mind seemed to cloud over just from being close to the 'tall, holy shit, panty wetting, I want to run my tongue over that clan tattoo' Archangel mage.

Kaleb had heard a lot, and had been around Lucy enough to know that the woman had a very active mind, but to hear it simply break apart and shatter just at being close to his brother made him curious and wary. He lightly poked at her mind, finding a haze over everything but thoughts about his brother and what sexual things could be done.

What shattered his lack of trust was Lucy blinking after a few moments and turning red, coughing as she took a step back and held up her hands, "whoa there! Nope! Personal space!"

The two stared at one another before the Celestial Mage spoke again and her voice cracked, "um…hi, I'm Lucy, I don't know what this feeling is...but I'd like to get to know you and by you I mean you, only you, not some magic hazed you."

"Promise me one thing," Zen had said, voice slowly clearing and a bit of wariness leaking into his voice.

Lucy just beamed up at him, "anything!"

Zen continued to stare down at Lucy, taking in the small woman before he smirked, "you won't say 'no'."

Kaleb heard the wail in the woman's mind and he choked. That hadn't been something he'd expected Zen to ask to promise…and he truly didn't know about her magic and what promises were.

Natsu let out a yell, "HEY! She can say no if she wants!"

Lucy slowly blinked and then gave Natsu a Lucy Kick as the slayer came over and tried to start a fight, "I already promised that I wouldn't, Natsu. So stop. You know how Promises work with me."

That's when Kaleb heard the Slayer's mind just crumble into dust as he lay there, mind attempting to process what was just said.

Lucy huffed as she put her hands on her hips and stared down at Natsu, "baka!"

Zen stood there for a moment and smirked, "…are you wearing a red lace thong?"

Lucy's face went beat red, especially when Cana let out a catcall. She slowly brought a hand up to her face and let it slide down her features. She couldn't Deny it. She'd made a promise and then took a breath before looking up and her face turning a darker shade of crimson, "…yes."

Kaleb could hear the gears turning in his brother's head and sat back, noting even Bickslow was being quiet and attentive.

"would you join me in order for me to get a better look at them?" Zen grinned down at the blonde and he could see her pupils become tiny.

Laxus let out a soft chuckle and shook his head. He wanted to be mad, just as mad as Natsu, but he knew better than to get in the way of a Promise that Lucy made. Her kicks hurt far too much to incur that wrath; so, instead, he'd sit back and see what sort of trouble his kin had gotten herself into with the visiting Pradesh family.

Lucy squeaked as she stood there, "…now?"

Zen shrugged a bit, "I was thinking tonight."

Lucy licked her lips in thought as she stood there. There were worse ways to get a good looking man in her bed, right? After a moment, she gave a small nod, "…alright."

Zen nodded as stood there, "care to show me around town?"

Lucy let out a small sound as she nodded and turned, "alright…"

The collective of Fairy Tail watched the two leave, Cana calling out a betting pool already and even Erza moving towards her and placing a bet. They'd all seen Lucy grow in the last few years and while she had her own thoughts, she was happy for what she thought to be her little sister…besides…as Lucy had told her so often 'My Word is my Promise'…and the blond had made a promise before truly knowing what the promise was to be. Nothing wrong with winning a bit of Jewel and collecting on a bet on if the Blonde would end up making a Promise to one of the Pradesh siblings.


	3. Lick

Thank you everyone for the reviews. there were plenty. I don't know if I'm going to continue any of these One Shots, if they're in the same "Storyline" or anything. if someone would like to adopt one of the snippets and go from there, I'm not against it, as long as I get credit for the "pilot" idea.

Without Further Ado, however, let's move on to day two and what Shenanagans shall come.

Day Two: Lick

"oh, come on, Van, it's just one of Plue's lollipops!" Lucy watched the Pradesh as she held out a treat that looked like a lightning lacrima on a stick. It was a warm summer day and the Pool around them was loud, wet and there was plenty of playing around going on.

Vander was not an idiot, as a bloodhound for the steel council, he was one of the best. He scowled as he looked at the assortment of 'Lacrama on sticks' as he called them, "I'm all for trying new things, Stardust, but this.."

Lucy looked at him innocently Plue sitting in her lap with the stick for one of the lollipops hanging out of his mouth as he shook, "These are made by Virgo, for Plue, that's why they've got a magical signature, they're from the Celestial Realm." She smiled at him as she picked one up and licked it, showing nothing bad happened. "the one with the blue stick is a special sort of celestial wine berry. I promise none of them are Lightning Lacrama."

Kaleb, who was near by and relaxing in the sun, slowly opened an eye and lowered the sunglasses that were perched on his nose, trying to pick up something in the very busy mind of the Celestial Mage, but to his dismay, the woman still had managed to find the best way to keep him from getting into her head: think of far too many things too quickly to sift through.

Vander's eyes danced as he finally picked one up, she made the blue sticked one seem interesting and she did promise that they weren't Lacrama. He brought the treat up and licked it, magic suddenly flashing as the Shadowquip was flash frozen in place.

Lucy sat there, grinning as she could almost feel the shocked outrage as Vander turned to the shadows. When he reformed behind her, she looked up at him and smirked, "I promised they weren't Lightning Lacrama. That was an ice one. It's summer." That was all she could get out before she squealed and was drug into the shadows, tossing Plue into the air to 'safety'.

There was quiet as the group around eyed the bag of candy that the Celestial Spirit was now getting into, watching him start to shake even more. Part of them realized, at that moment, that he didn't shake because he was scared, he shook because he was on Sugar.


	4. Summit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had an entirely different story ready for Day 3, however, When I went out, got starbucks and went shopping for dinner, this came to me. I could have possibly put it on another day, but when I got to the end, I knew it belonged here. a Bit "M"y. I'm not good on writing fighting and the like, fair note, that's why I tend to gloss over it.
> 
> Also. Muses. weird.
> 
> This had been edited from the original, as there was stuff that I just put up and didn't really take a good look through the first time.

"Come to Bosco for a vacation, he said," Lucy grumbled as she walked, "it'll be fun, he said!" The celestial spirit mage kicked a rock, "fun, my ass, Stars damn you, Bix!"

Lucy loved the Pradesh Family. She truly did, but when she'd managed to sneak away for a holiday after a lot of debate, the first thing that had met her was a grinning Solar Dragon Slayer and a job request.

She'd expected shopping, a girls' day! Nope! Camping! Alright, she couldn't deny that she had to notify White Sea she was coming, just because she was a traveling mage. Their wonderful, amazing, fantastic Job System had pinged her and the Dragon slayer, even though she wasn't part of the Guild. A Key. Alright, she'd be fine with doing something for a key. It was her Vacation…she supposed there was nothing wrong with doing a bit of a side job.

Ahead of her, Emzadi, the absolutely stunning blonde woman topping six foot, with beautiful skin and curves that just made Lucy feel…plain. She was sure part of that was Natsu and Happy's fault. Who was she kidding? It was all their fault…and Fiore's Views on women. She let out a faint sigh as she continued her trek, taking in the beautiful dragoness ahead of her.

Emzadi hummed to her, looking back at the other woman over her shoulder, she slowed her pace allowing the much shorter blonde to fall into step next to her, "Excited?"

The Celestial mage blinked and snorted, "for a new key? Yes, for climbing a jungle covered mountain? Not so much."

Emzadi could Feel the molten rock beneath the mountain. Even she knew the smaller blonde was on vacation, to relax, but the prospect of a new key had made it easy to lure the woman out into the wilds. Her lips quirked into an almost predatory smile as she walked, yes, she had plans that would be enjoyable for the smaller blonde. She'd make sure of it.

She easily cut a path for them, being careful as she did. The Dragoness didn't want to actually burn the place down and that would cause more of an issue. She planned and plotted as she walked, grinning to herself as she did so. Yes, this would be a very good trip.

It took hours and Lucy had bonded well with Solar Dragon slayer, the two laughing and sharing stories before they got to the top of the mountain. No, notMountain. It was a volcano. She could feel the heat and it stole her breath, that and the temple that was there as well.

The small blonde shivered despite the heat as the two made their way to the temple and her jaw dropped as she saw statues of dragons, all different some looking like they were roaring, others curled up, but each was amazing. She slowly started to poke around, looking for an ancient tome that was supposed to be there. She wasn't sure why the three of them had been chosen, but she wasn't about to question it.

After a fruitless hour, she leaned against a large ceremonial table, running a hand through her hair, "okay, now I'm lost."

It was Emzadi breezing towards the large table with a fluid and predatory grace that had Lucy on edge. "what did we find?"

Lucy let out a soft hum, "this..there's a lot here, but nothing screams match making…maybe something closer to finding pleasure…but.." she shrugged.

Emzadi nodded a bit, "well, we've got to find the tome…but we've looked everywhere."

The two women were trying to think when they heard stone move and shifted, each getting ready to attack if needed. Gold flashed as Lucy held out a few keys and took a deep breath, she'd debated on which star dress to use and given where they were, Phoenix's seemed best. She loved the perverted firebird, if only because he was both a healer and a fire user. His contract had helped quite a bit and he'd been helping Wendy alongside Cristoff, the – in Lucy's mind – panty dropping, sex on legs Lunar Dragon Slayer. The star dress was an ornate red, black and gold off the shoulder kimono that had enough feathers and gold baubles to make her look like a bird in a cage. Her hair pulled up and pinned, coifed with red gems and a set of chopsticks that held her hair curled up with red streaking into the blonde locks. She knew that the feather 'cape' down the back of the kimono could turn to wings, allowing her to glide – she'd not gotten 'flight' down yet, she did a lot of crashing into the ground – distances.

She stood there, waiting as the shifting of the rock stopped and a glow seemed to curl around the temple. Dread filled her as she realized that lava had flowed around it, cutting them off. It didn't come in, but there was no getting out at the moment, "…well fuck."

"I could always blow th-"

Lucy scowled, "no, you're not blowing off the roof. There has to be a way out of this. The Lava isn't coming into the temple. That means it's there for a reason…" she waved the fan that came with the star dress in front of her face, "…Stars…it's hot."

Emzadi stood there then slowly turned to look at the smaller blonde, a smirk on her lips, "I could cool you down."

Lucy let out a squeak "I don't…how…uh…" she pressed back a bit more, eyes widening as the taller blonde seemed to stalk towards her. The Celestial Spirit mage let out a sound as she scrambled backwards and up onto the large table, only to let out a mewl when her legs had strong hands on them. Brown, shocked and uncertain eyes looked up to meet intense orange ones, "…Emi…?"

The Solar dragon slayer slowly leaned down, nose slowly drawing along the exposed skin and purred at the smell. Her hands shifted, easily parting the obi of the outfit and grinned as her hands found nothing but skin. She had to remind herself to thank this particular spirit.

"E-emi!" Lucy tried to wriggle back, but the hands were strong and she was feeling more heat than she thought there had been before.

"Share pleasure with me, let me bring you to heights of heat like the one's on the summit outside," The dragoness purred as she felt the heat coming off the smaller blonde.

Lucy knew she shouldn't, they were on a mission for Stars' sake! The heat, the rumble in the other woman's chest had her melting from more than the heat as she sat there. The Celestial mage swallowed as she felt warm hands curling along her skin, leaving trails of heat in their wake and a low moan bubbling up her throat. She shouldn't, but she couldn't help her head nodding.

Emzadi smiled as she felt the nod and purred in her chest. She had a type and Lucy truly wasn't normally it. She went for large men typically that could take what she could put out and not balk at nails and everything else, but the exoticness that was Lucy had caught her inner dragon's attention. Pleasure was Pleasure and her dragon wanted this pleasure at the moment.

Sure hands slowly let the clothing the smaller blonde wore be pushed back to pool over the large stone table and her lips slowly curled down, nipping and leaving small marks along the pale, pale skin. One hand slowly curled along Lucy's hip and then stomach, finding the small patch of well tended curls before dipping down, fingers slowly playing along the glistening lips, "how warm for me."

Lucy let out a low moan at the words that were mumbled against her skin and her head fell back. Her hands weren't sure what to do but they slowly moved out, finding the hot skin of the slayer before shyly ghosting over the tanned skin. She couldn't help but let out another moan at the purr that came from the powerful woman as she leaned back a bit.

The dragoness looked down at the woman that was half sprawled across the table surrounded by celestial silks and feathers. Yes, this woman embodied a prize that her inner dragon wanted to covet and protect. Not as a Mate, but something else and she wasn't sure what yet.

Her lips dipped down further and she purred against the soft skin, hands slowly spreading the smaller's legs apart. Her tongue slowly curled out, lapping across the creamy skin and tasting the salt from the other's sweat before slowly making her way up, lightly nuzzling the hidden treasure and purring at the way the other mage arched up with a gasp.

Emzadi barely registered much as she turned, head snapping about at a new presence.

"Princess, I-" Loke stood there for a moment, trying to decide how to continue what he was going to say. The Orange eyes slitting made him stand back with his hands up, "I'll…be go-"

"mine!" the dragoness roared and suddenly it all clicked why the blonde woman had drawn her. She was the bridge to her mate.

Loke blinked as he was pounced on and the leader of the zodiac groaned but rolled them over.

Lucy let out a panting mewl at the lack of sensation and then propped herself up on her elbows, blinking with hazed over eyes. She tilted her head, having heard from Wendy about Dragoness mating and her eyes were wide as she watched the fight that had started. The woman let out an 'eep!' as a blast of solar energy nearly hit her and she was rolling off the back of the table, celestial silks wrapping around her.

The roaring, the fighting, the tussling, all of it drew the chocolate orbs as she watched her most faithful spirit and her partner fight with a rising sexual tension and just ferocity in the air.

When the solar dragon was finally subdued, Emzadi was sprawled over the table that Lucy had been on and moaning up into the lion spirit as their bodies moved. The chocolate eyes peeked over the top, then she sat down, crossing her arms and just waiting. This was…going to be one of those things in her life, wasn't it?

Her hand brushed against something and she blinked as her hand moved against a small nub on the bottom of the table that she probably wouldn't have seen if things had not gone how they had. She wriggled it, even as she heard the sound of bodies moving together and moans of pleasure fill the air. The small compartment opened, revealing a book and she pulled it out, looking at it.

It was the book they needed to get, but she wasn't even sure how long she was going to be there now. Mating, if Natsu was right, took weeks. She drummed her fingers and opened up the book, she had time…because it didn't look like the lava was retreating.

When Emzadi finally came down from the Euphoria, she frowned a bit. Well, Mated to a celestial spirit was not how she pictured things, but as she looked at the ginger she was curled into, she couldn't see things any other way. She slowly sat up and stretched, leaning over when she smelled Lucy's scent. She knew she should be protective, ready to tear the other blonde apart, "…Lucy?"

The celestial mage blinked and looked up, "oh, hey." She grinned as she sat there, taking a sip out of a water bottle that smelled of berries, "you two done? I've had to call quite a few times…" she snorted, "I think you'd both have starved if I hadn't been here."

"…we couldn't have been going that long…" The Solar dragon slayer scowled.

Lucy ran her hand over a key, "Three weeks, two days, four hours, ten minutes…and thirty seconds. With breaks for naps and food that Virgo brought." She looked up and smiled, "and the lava's gone! Time to go!"

"Lucy…about all this…"

The smaller blonde smiled up "it's fine. Maybe he'll stop flirting with me…and chasing off guys, like the rest of my pussy clamping guild." She grinned as she put her things into a bag, if only for the look that the taller blonde was giving her. "He's my Spirit, but your Mate. He's able to come out on his own…and…we'll work out something." She smiled warmly and pat Emzadi on the arm, "I'm glad you found your one."

Loke slowly stretched as he watched his summoner slowly walk out of the temple, "She's…one of a kind and I'm glad."

Emzadi looked down at Loke, "no more flirting with her."

The Lion Spirit let out a rich laugh, "I don't think I could unless I was teasing her now."

Emzadi nodded a bit, "I don't think this is what I expected from the Summit Temple…but…I like it."


	5. Concede

Lucy had sat and watched quite a few couples come together, and helped with a few herself. As it was, she sat quietly at the bar and watched the couples that were all together for the Spring Festival in…well While it was still Fairy Tail, it was an affiliated branch of White Sea and the reason was obvious. The small blonde wasn't above poking her extended guild for stories about things and writing about it.

First, There was Bickslow and Cobra, expected, at least to her. The story of them getting together was interesting…and she'd nearly lost two friends because none of them had known anything and a night of drinking had caught her in a tan cookie sandwich that turned into a mating. Dragon slayers were not known for being happy when someone came in between that sort of thing. She'd high tailed it that night, she was happy for the two, but that one night and the foggy memories she could recall still were in her top ten list of things to masturbate to.

Laxus and Xally were settled on one of the newly put in couches, the woman refusing to walk upstairs in her current, very pregnant condition. She hadn't been there, but from what she'd been told, he'd not met the small water mage during his exile, but later on during the year break. He'd apparently fought against the light pull because he'd only just seen her then high tailed it. Now they were very happily getting ready to have a family.

Emzadi and Gray. Solar Dragon Slayer and Ice Demon Slayer. She knew the ice that gray could use actually couldn't be melted by Natsu, so it was a good way to help keep the very hot, in many ways, woman cooled down. Given the looks that were going between Xally's stomach and Gray, Lucy surmised at least one more baby might be rolling around soon. She had to ask how that had come about, it would make a good story, she was sure.

Juvia had been heart broken, but well Lyon had been there while they had explained to her about Dragon Slayers and Mates…and while disappointing, the Water Woman understood, she and the ice make mage were now expecting as well.

The Twin Dragon Slayers and Farron. It started as a bodyguard mission and she truly didn't want to think how that dynamic worked. She sipped her drink slowly as she glanced at the three, chuckling as Sting was whining and Rogue was helping Farron with things. She supposed there were worse things than actually having two Dragon Slayers are your personal, around the clock bodyguards and Lovers.

Yukino and Zen still burned her up inside. She hadn't truly forgiven the other celestial mage for what happened. She and Zen were getting to know one another before it happened and she sighed. It had, quite frankly, been probably the best chance at Romance she may have had. She'd been called on a job for Hisui and apparently Zen had been there visiting Bickslow when Yukino had shown up during one of the Fairy Tail style parties. A Night of Drinking and Dancing later, the two had been mated and when Lucy had gotten back, she looked at Yukino, the woman knowing about Zen and how she was dating him, and had simply said 'you are dead to me'. She hadn't truly talked to either since then, much to Zen's dismay.

Lucy snapped her head to the next couple as she saw Zen move his head, seeing him look at her just in the edge of her vision. She refused to really talk to either of them. She knew the compulsion, they all did and while she knew she shouldn't be so petty, it felt like a betrayal and she couldn't get that bit of trust to reform enough to be anything less than Professional with the archangel mage.

Kaleb and Freed were adorable to her. They could carry on a few conversations and she had no issue with them. Though, she did have a hand in getting them together. She'd seen looks go back and forth but knowing Freed and how both of them were raised, she knew she had to give him a push. It was a night of dancing and partying, and as she thought back on it, quite a few of the couples did get together that way. She brushed the thought out of her head. She'd been sitting at the bar with the Rune mage and they'd been talking, just relaxing and going over a new linguistics study with Levy when she'd seen the bulky, tall, stepped out of the lord of the rings, world class mind bender of 'panty destruction' had flagged Mira down for another round of drinks. She'd mused out loud about how long he could go and there was sputtering from the other two. She had gone to hop up with a firm resolve to ask, only to have Freed's eyes go dark and then she grinned, shoving him and laughing at the embarrassment from the male before shoving him to go talk to Kaleb.

Wendy and Beck had come out of left field to everyone, but the two made it somehow work. Wendy had grown up in…quite a few ways and looked much like her Edolas counterpart now, only a little less busty. She smiled as the two were relaxing, settled with drinks and laughing with a large group of people.

That same night, Cris and Natsu had gotten together. She wasn't sure how it worked, but her best friend was now dead set on getting her, like the rest of the Slayers, set up with someone, or something else. Depending on the day of the week. She was fully acknowledging to herself…that it seemed like she was just going to be single for the rest of her life.

"So, Stardust, any reason you're here, at the bar instead of dancing and being social?" came the purring voice in her ear.

Lucy didn't bother to flinch or jump, fully used to the biggest troublemaker of the Pradesh group, Vander. She put a hand up, fingers splaying before the hand was over his face and pushing him back. She turned her head and smiled softly, "just people watching." She shrugged a bit and smiled. Vander was a good time, a fun time. Any time that she needed it. He seemed in no hurry to settle down like the rest of his family. "Natsu said he wanted to ask me something anyway…so I'm waiting for them to show up."

Vander arched an eyebrow, "well that sounds ominous."

Lucy laughed as she shrugged, "with Natsu, it tends to be something stupid. So…hopefully Cris has talked him out of it."

Almost on cue, the doors opened. Thankfully with Cris' influence, Natsu wasn't as…boisterous. He still made a beeline for her and she sighed as she put her drink down, "…here we go."

"luce!" Natsu grinned as he got close, "have a baby for us!"

The entire guildhall went quiet and Lucy just stared at Natsu for a moment, "…what."

"have a baby for me and Cris!"

Lucy sat there for a moment and then took the glass of Boscan alcohol in Vander's hand, downing it and then setting the glass aside. She stood, looked at Natsu and then just walked towards the door, calling over her shoulder, "no."

"aww! C'mon, Luce!" Natsu whined as he walked after her. "we're not asking a lot!"

That got the pinkette on the floor from a Lucy Kick from Scary Lucy and the doors closing behind her.

Cristoff sighed as he helped his mate up, shaking his head, "we've been over this…we were going to talk to her alone."

Natsu grinned up at the burly slayer, "Sorry."

Vander was trying to decide if Natsu was just that stupid, that dense…or just..being himself. He shook his head as he sat there then clapped his hands at the silence going on, "well…I think it's time for some music."

Natsu watched the youngest Pradesh move to the stage and start up some more music. He looked disappointed, "…did I mess up?"

"it's not exactly a common thing to ask, Natsu," Cris said as he pulled his smaller mate to his side, "especially not of a woman like Lucy."

Natsu's brow furrowed, "what do you mean? She's my best friend, why wouldn't I ask her when we were ready?"

The Lunar slayer shook his head and smiled, "alright, time to talk again about personal expectations." He lead his small mate to a table, raising a hand to flag down Mira for a few drinks. For once, the barmaid not going all heart eyed. They'd all seen how Lucy simply seemed to be withdrawing more and more.

Vander, he knew, had tried to keep the woman social and engaged, but with each couple, and then what happened between Zen and Yukino, it seemed that she simply didn't want to actually be social. She still came to the guildhall, whichever she was working out of at the time, she still smiled, she still lit up a room with her general presence, but Cris could see it was just a mask.

He wasn't sure how to actually help the woman. If it was something physical, he could heal it, tend to it. He'd gone to Kaleb, but his brother had shaken his head. Cobra had chimed in that he'd taught the blonde woman how to keep mind mages out and it seemed that she was even able to keep his brother out.

The Lunar Slayer moved Natsu up to the balcony to talk to him and sighed, "Alright…so let's go over this again…"

Natsu sighed as he sat there, "Lucy is my best friend, she's our kin and probably the best person in the world to actually carry our future kid." He let out a faint sound in the back of his throat, "I thought she'd be happy…"

Cristoff sighed a bit, he was infinitely patient and with a Mate like Natsu it came in handy. He moved to wrap his arms around the other slayer and put his head on top of the pink hair. "you know she hasn't been quite the same since Yukino and Zen, Natsu."

Natsu sighed a bit as he slumped, "I know…I mean…they were doing really good, like…dating and she was keeping that stupid issue had at bay…and then…I mean…we really should have paid more attention…"

Cristoff shook his head and gently rubbed Natsu's back. He understood where his mate was coming from, but really, Kaleb hadn't felt anything wrong that night, though he was slightly distracted by Freed. "what's done is done, Natsu."

"so…we'll ask again?"

Cristoff chuckled and nodded a bit, kissing the fire slayer on the forehead, "we'll ask again."

They didn't get that chance, her apartment was just empty the next day. The two had to surrender the fact that they hadn't been able to convince the Blonde mage…and with no scent to follow, they had no choice but to resign themselves to the Resounding 'no' that was given in so many ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been expanded on, Finding the Starlight will be posted to AO3, it will just be after I get caught up on this set of Pradesh-Shots


	6. Particular

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Different setting and a pairing that apparently Created a stir and a following.
> 
> Shokugeki No Soma Mentioned. I don't own, just like I don't own FT....or the Pradeshes...*sniffles* thank you for them Desna

When you work as an Ambassador, you see a lot, and truly Arman Pradesh had seen a lot. Though, an old Video of his newest intern, Lucy, had him amused. The young woman was amazing and efficient.

"So, you found this where?" He looked at his oldest son, they'd actually just seen the young woman off and with a trip like this one, there was plenty to do in 'off hours'. They didn't ask, but then again, one never knew.

"just watch," Farron smirked as he put the video on the projector.

_Lucy was driving a vehicle, and whoever was taping was off screen. The male spoke, "So…Luce, what are your plans for this fall?"_

_"Hmm? Oh, I've got intern applications in," The blonde woman grinned as she glanced towards the camera, "I managed to get a bunch of online classes done."_

_"Wait…Luce, you should have like…another year before that!"_

_The woman seemed to glow with pride, "I know, I worked a lot to get that done!"_

_"So…who're you applying for?"_

_"Well, a few different ones, but I'm really happy and hoping for the one Senior Ambassador Pradesh."_

_There was a chuckle, "the old guy?"_

_She scowled, "he's not old, Natsu! He's matured. Unlike you and every other guy I know!"_

_"uh huh, isn't that what you said last year with Professor Greer?"_

_The woman's face lit up, "Stars, Natsu! Did everyone know about that?!"_

_"nope, only a few…but damn, people thought you were fucking your way to an 'A' in his class."_

_Lucy rolled her eyes, "Please, hardly the case, I'd have my ass chewed during dates if he found things wrong. He rode me so hard…" she snorted at the snicker from the other person, "…not just in bed. Stars, grow up, Natsu."_

_Natsu snickered, "right, so…we all know you like older men. Really older men."_

_Lucy shook her head, "if I get this, I have to be professional about it."_

_"Before or after you change your panties every shift?"_

_"NATSU!" the vehicle swerved as she reached out and smacked at Natsu, "you make me sound like such a perv."_

_"So…"_

_Lucy sighed, "he's good looking, mature…Boscan, so it's not like he'd not be good in bed…" she grinned, "that's why I like older guys, Natsu, they know their way around the bedroom."_

The two Pradesh men sat there, chuckling and Arman looked amused as he paused the video, "So my intern has a little crush?"

"I'd say more than a crush, there's a dozen little snippets on this guy's page, all about them discussing you, your work and a few audio only files where she's talking," Farron shook his head "she's…interesting. I'll say that and this Natsu friend of hers seems to know that you are a particular topic she enjoys discussing and has for years, if I'm right."

Arman smirked as he sat back, "she is. Good at her job, quick at it, better than most I've managed to come across. Should I worry that she might be a stalker of sorts?"

"Maybe she's a keeper, if nothing else, she'll work harder at things." Farron shrugged slightly and shook his head. "but stalker? No, I don't think so. She seems to be able to separate her feelings and her work."

Farron clicked on another link, smirking as an audio only feed was played, "this one's good."

_"So…Luce…"_

_There was a sigh, "What is it Natsu? I'm trying to get this paperwork filled out."_

_"did you get the internship?"_

_A long pause and then a small squeak, "..yes."_

_"why is your face all red?"_

_There was a loud punch and a male groan, "Natsu! Stars! I mean…not only am I going to be working under him, but probably his oldest son at…" her words trailed off at the snickering, "…what are you Natsu, thirteen?"_

_"Yup, at times," There was a masculine chuckle and then the male sobered, "So…really, Luce…are you seriously crushing on him?"_

_Lucy gave a soft sigh and mumbled, "he's like…everything I could want in a guy. Caring, distinguished, kind, dedicated…" there was some rustling of fabric, "but…I mean…he's still fully dedicated to his passed on wife. I mean…I seriously can't compete with that particular brand of love."_

_"now you're selling yourself short, Luce, I mean, you're smart, funny and well, if I wasn't Gay, I'd totally fuck you."_

_"gross! You're like a brother to me! Ugh! Dammit, Natsu, gross. Little brother incest thoughts!"_

_"wait! I'm older than you!"_

_"you're still like a little, annoying, pain in the ass brother!"_

_There was a pause, "So…you'd totally fuck him?"_

_"in a nanosecond, but I won't do anything to screw up my degree and internship. This is a future in the Consulate we're talking about, a lot more important than probably having one of the most delicious looking men I've ever seen in my bed."_

_There was a pause and Natsu grinned, "what about your Cosplay Career?"_

_Lucy choked and sputtered, "please! That'll only last until after I get out of college! Well, okay, maybe a few years after, but I can do that without having to be there…mostly…and I'll be able to go around the world! So that's not an issue."_

_"Sure, Luce, Sure."_

The two Pradesh men sat there, both looking amused. Farron chuckled slightly and shook his head, "So…"

Arman smiled a bit, "She's got a particular charm to her…."

Farron patted Arman on the shoulder, "I leave it to you, Dad…I don't want to know the details."

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

That was two years ago, Arman was proud of the intern that he'd raised and watched as the now starting out Ambassador was talking to an envoy from Joya across the large room. The blonde woman was laughing and waving a hand, the envoy doing the same. It seemed like there was some sort of rapport going on and he was proud.

When the assembly was called done for the day, he moved towards the small blonde and then tapped her shoulder, "Miss Heartfilia, I believe it is time we go back to our rooms."

The one thing the older man couldn't deny was that he enjoyed seeing the flush on the small woman's face. She looked up at him with chocolate eyes that danced with promises and mirth before bowing her head to end her conversation and starting away with him.

She spoke quietly as they got into the hallway, "I got a new outfit, do you want to see it?"

"Oh? What is it this time?" The Ambassador was well used to this sort of line, it always ended up in a very interesting night.

"Ikumi Mito, from Shokugeki no Soma," She gave a bit of a skip to her step and grinned, "She likes meat, you know."

Arman missed half a step and watched his former intern turned lover skip ahead. She never failed to catch him off guard with her particular brand of 'crazy' as his boys called it.


	7. Huge

The Pradesh boys were not strangers to comments about their size. All their sizes. However, sitting and visiting with their brother, Cristoff, Vander, Zen and Farron slowly blinked. Bickslow slowly leaned to the side, looking at the table behind them with a grin.

"Wow. So huge."

They didn't know who whispered it, but they slowly looked towards a table that housed a few of the Fairy Girls; Mira, Lisanna, Lucy, Cana and Wendy. They were all glancing towards the table and then gave small waves when they saw the group of eyes on them.

The men watched as the women sat there, just smiling and their fingers twitched, making…patterns. They all giggled suddenly and Vander shook his head, "Suddenly I wish Kaleb was here."

Cristoff watched the women curiously. They were all quite interesting, in their own way. Wendy, he knew, was a good healer and he was teaching her when he came to visit. She'd truly grown. The others, well…

Cana fit right in with the Boscans, open, loving and very much liking physical Touch. Mira wasn't as forward, but she still was quite there in getting what she wanted…when she wanted. Lisanna was a sweetheart and the Boscans were fairly certain behind the sweet façade there was something predatory there waiting to be sprung free, and Vander had found that out during their last trip. Lucy was simply a Mystery to them.

She smiled warmly, talked with them and advances were met with muted, almost shy refusals. It wasn't to say they didn't try multiple times, but the blonde woman was, by far, the hardest to get to. Even Zen had issues getting close, and both of them should have felt a pull.

There was another giggle from the table and then the women looked at each other and got up as one, moving towards the bar in a pack. Breezing past their table en route.

"…I'm suddenly very fearful," Farron watched the group, "they…don't normally move in a pack like that…do they, Bix?"

Bickslow shook his head, "nope. Not at all. I mean…like one or two together, but a group like that? Nope." The Seith mage just stared at the women as they leaned against the bar and got Kianna's attention.

After a moment, a large bottle was brought over and Lucy nodded as she held it, "See! I told you it was Huge!"

"I thought it was just a trick of the eye!" Lisanna blinked as she stared at the bottle that was at least half as tall as Lucy and very well as round as one of the Celestial Mage's legs.

The group turned as one as they heard crashes and blinked as they saw heads on tables and Vander on the floor looking stunned.

"…what's wrong with you guys?" Lucy asked as she tilted her head, looking at them with an innocent look.

"…you weren't…talking about one of us?"

The women looked at each other and grinned, the looks predatory as they turned it on the brothers. Cana cackled, "Oh, you guys are big…but you're not Huge like this sake bottle."

There were some snickers as the women walked back to their table, Mira having a tray of glasses and the rest giggling.

"shit, I'm out," Biskslow stood, moving quickly. He'd heard about the women and sake and refused to be around them.

Cristoff scoffed, "how bad could it be?"

Famous Last Words, especially when Carla and Ezra joined in.


	8. Doxy

He slowly sat on the edge of the bed, watching as the moonlight played over her golden hair and skin. He smiled softly and shook his head, he didn't know what he'd done to truly be able to have his lover, but he had.

A hand slowly moved out, fingers lightly brushing the golden locks back and he smiled warmly as her heart shaped face moved into the fingers. The honeyed eyes slowly opened and she smiled at him, sleep still hanging in her features.

"mm, hey," her voice was still laced with sleep as she lay there and he gave her a soft smile.

"rest, Lucy, " he spoke softly and then chuckled as she let out a low hum and then rolled over, sprawling on the bed. The covers slid down her a bit and he grinned at her lack of clothing. That had truly taken awhile to get her to do.

The male slid into the bed after disrobing, sighing in contentment as she shifted in her sleep to curl against his side. His lips slowly moved to rest against the crown of her head and he let out another soft sound. He'd never expected to find anyone, let alone her in the large, large world, but her soul was just beautiful, calling to his, their souls mingling in such a way that his brother Bickslow said it was brilliant, blinding and warmed those around them just by proximity.

With his magic, he hadn't expected to find such a jewel. He'd expected to find someone that was so meek that they'd not be able to even look him in the face. She was anything but. She kept him on his toes, stood up to him, got him back for every little tease he threw her way. She was his spitfire, and for that, he was glad.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Lucy let out a groan as she woke and then stretched as she sat up. The bed was still warm and she grumbled as she heard a masculine voice in the other room.

"yeah, I know…give me a few, we just got back and I'd like to at least give Lucy breakfast in bed…"

She could hear the frustration in his velvety voice and she shook her head. He wasn't paying that much attention as he scowled at his L-com and she moved to slowly wrap her arms around him, nuzzling into his skin and kissing one shoulder before she murmured, "Presca. You're making me feel like a Mistress with how busy you keep Van."

The Teleport mage sputtered a bit before the call ended and Vander chuckled, "Damn, Stardust…that was brutal."

Lucy shrugged a bit, moving to slide around him, winding her arms along his chest, tracing the clan tattoo that was there, eyes darkening as she watched him shiver, "mm, well…" She shrugged, "not like I was planning anything for last night or anything."

They weren't Promised yet, not that Vander hadn't thought about it, but until he got away from the steel council, he didn't want to risk Lucy. With her staying in White Sea under the guise of helping Kaleb out with something, and the two seen 'flirting', no one was none the wiser. "Sorry, Stardust."

"mm, it's fine," she kissed the underside of his jaw as she pressed against his hard body and Vander groaned at the feeling.

His eyes half lidded and he murmured, "so a mistress hmm?"

"Good Morning, hime, I've made breakfast, punishment?"

Vander never got used to Virgo and half jumped when he heard her. The man scowled a bit, "oh, there'll be pu-"

Lucy smacked his ass before she smiled at Virgo and let the maid lead her towards where the food was. That was the sass that he loved and he trailed after them. On the table was a light breakfast, some paperwork…and a hammered set of chokers.

Wine Red eyes blinked as Vander slowly looked at Lucy, "…stardust?"

Lucy sat, tapping the papers, "Read. We've been working hard. This is your last job for the Steel Council. I will not be the Mistress any more." She smirked, "I'd rather be your promised."

Vander sat down and slowly read over everything, a feeling of awe growing further and further before he sat it all down and looked at her for a long moment, "promised. Right."

He grinned at her and leaned over, deciding to attempt to steal a kiss, only to have a piece of fruit stuffed in his mouth. He gave a scowl to the blonde as he chewed, "Dammit, Stardust."

"Eat first, Kisses second, your father's office third, he's got the paperwork in case you said 'yes'," Lucy said as she ate some yogurt and fruit, humming softly.


	9. Brimstone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this was done in 4 parts, for AO3, I have compressed it all into one very long read.

Lucy Heartfilia was called Lucky, gifted, special.

That was not how she felt as she was standing in a large throne room that smelled of sulfur, brimstone and fire. In fact, she was downright ready to scream…and find the nearest window to fall out of, just so that she didn't have to feel like she was ready to die.

Everything had been fine, it had been good. She'd been on a small vacation to Minstrel. Art, refinement, wonderful books and best of all? No Team. She'd gotten away, gotten to relax and simply enjoy a bit of time to herself.

Then without warning, she'd been sucked through a shadowy portal. It absently reminded her of something at the back of her mind but she brushed it off. She'd deal with that later, when she didn't feel like she was woefully ready to just die. Or be killed.

She heard an unearthly Roar from out of one of the windows and let out a whine. It sounded dangerous, not that she hadn't learned to take care of herself. Oh, no, meeting Bickslow's family and taking vacations there had gotten her a good bit of training. She just didn't have enough information to figure out where she was.

When shadows Swirled around the throne, she blinked at the figure that appeared. It Looked like Vander Pradesh. Red streaked black hair, wine eyes that you could get lost in – and Cana had wondered if she licked them if they'd taste good – a body that made the heat drop right to her panties and he was wearing nothing but red leather pants.

The woman let out a low whimper as he slowly started towards her and a finger curled over her cheek. She couldn't help but lean a bit into it, letting out a mewl as the hand curled over her cheek and to the back of her neck. The kiss that followed drew a moan from her and she arched into man's body.

There were no words as Vander's other hand slowly trailed along her back, clothing seeming to melt away between the two of them and she let out a low moan as she felt her own skin firm against the Pradesh's, arching into him and letting out a soft gasp that allowed a skilled and sinful tongue to dip into her mouth.

"Stay with me," came the silken voice that seemed to lull her further into a heat and her hands curled around his shoulders, nails dragging as she purred.

He brought his hand down, slowly drawing one of her legs up, hooking it over his hip before his lips left hers and methodically, he kissed his way down her jaw and neck, finally tracing his tongue along the swell of one breast, eyes watching her as she gasped and writhed. His mouth moved languidly back up and she felt his lips curl along her throat and then bite down…hard.

Lucy let out a yell as she sat straight up, eyes wide as she looked around, coughing as she took in the ruins around her. She panted, a hand moving to her heaving chest as she tried to figure out…if that was real.

She shook her head as she stood and then sighed, wondering why she was on the floor during a mission and why she'd mentally thought she was in Minstrel for a vacation. Like her team allowed her enough extra jewel to do that. She snorted to herself and then hurried out of the ruins, not looking back to the room she had just been in.

If she had looked back, she would have seen the glowing red eyes and wicked smirk in the shadows and realized that where she had been…had been the throne room in her 'dream'.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The blonde woman made a stop back at White Sea, having sprung for an airship ride back instead of a five week boat ride, and it was always fun to talk to Bickslow's brothers. She smiled at those she knew in the guild hall and then sat at the bar, tiredly ordering a strawberry smoothie.

It had taken a two weeks to get back to Bosco, having been trying to stay under the radar, but she was exhausted. Each night it was the same odd dream, though each time, it continued a bit longer before she woke up. While she wasn't against any sort of wet dream, the fact that they were centered around Vander was worrying. The man got around more than she was sure even Loke got around, and that was saying a lot. He was sweet, and a good lover she'd heard, but she wasn't trying to actually start anything like that.

Her magic needed stability and, as she sipped her drink, the youngest Pradesh would never give that, despite the whispered promises in her dreams. They were that: erotic dreams to hold her over until she found someone. The last few nights, however, she found it harder to wake up, feeling like she hadn't rested much and like the rough sex in her dreams had showed up on her body. So far, there were no marks, so it was probably her mind just imposing the dream on her body.

"Hey there," Came a rumble behind her and she smiled at the smell of mint and the calming feeling as she turned. Cristoff, she mused, would have been someone she'd have loved to taken to her bed. Damn Dragon Slayers and their need to grab her and make her kin. They shared similar magic as he was the Lunar dragon slayer, and if she hadn't been made kin, she would have buried her hands in his dark hair and gotten lost in eyes that looked like the night sky. As it was? Big Brother Teddy bear. "you look tired."

She gave him a small smile, "just not sleeping well. Don't worry about it."

Cris gave a small nod, "okay, how long are you staying?"

Lucy looked thoughtful, "mm, a week. It'll still put me two weeks ahead of schedule to go back." She held out her arms, "up. I'm tired and want cuddles."

The Lunar dragon could only chuckle as he picked the small mage up and held her in one arm. He nuzzled into her hair and she let out a soft sigh as she nuzzled into his chest, being soothed by his very presence.

There were quite a few that had a similar idea, but seeing Cristoff, they'd backed way a bit from the obviously exhausted mage. Eyes watched the two, some having hunger for the large, massive, sex on legs Dragon Slayer, others watching the small, exotic woman that he was carrying. Cristoff was by no means without eyes. If his dragon hadn't claimed her as kin, he probably would have taken her to his bed, if only for a fun night.

He was a bit worried about her being so tired, so when she dozed off, he let his magic gently pulse through her, checking her body and frowned when he found something off. A small seed of magic at the base of her skull and he made a detour for the infirmary.

The bulky healer carefully laid her out and then started to truly look into what was there, only to pause as waves of arousal suddenly wafted off Lucy. It wasn't him, he wasn't touching her in that way, but it seemed that the bit of magic into the small seed had done this. He pulled the magic back and watched as the blonde mewled and shifted on the bed, but seemed to settle again.

 _"…Kaleb?"_ the slayer called out mentally, frowning as he pulled out his L-pad and went through it until he found Lucy's information. He tapped at it, marking things down as he put a hand out, a light mist settling over her and easing a few sore muscles he found.

It was a moment before he got a reply, but Kaleb let out a hum over the link, _"Yes, Cris?"_

_"do me a favor, see if you can find out where her last job was?"_

It was an odd request and Kaleb knew his confusion was there, but he would find out what was going on shortly enough _"we'll contact Fairy Tail."_

His next course of action was to call Xally and when the water mage came in, she looked concerned. They spoke and she gently prodded the 'seed' with her magic, frowning as no reaction at all came.

"well that's Odd," Xally said, looking at Cristoff, "are you su-" she was cut off as she felt cristoff pour a bit of magic into the seed and watched the blonde woman writhe and mewl for a moment, "…alright then…it responds to male magic…or maybe it's Celestial Magic?" she tapped her foot, "Best way to find out is to get the others."

Cristoff nodded and they went over who would be best to try. The two made a long list and then sighed as they realized the time. "we should probably take her home."

Xally smiled warmly, "it'll be nicer for her there too."

It was a simple moonshift and the three were at the front door to the Pradesh estate, moving inside. They knew their father wasn't due back from Enca for another day, so Xally went to notify Mr Elan of their visitor while Cristoff moved to put her into his bed.

He was quite confused as he sat there, watching her and trying to figure out what that seed was. After awhile, he simply decided to sleep and curl around his small kin. It was a bit later that the scent of arousal washed over him and he woke, frowning as he felt Lucy panting in her sleep. He knew it wasn't his magic currently and yet, he felt the seed being active.

This was bad, was this happening every night? He wasn't sure, but he hoped that finding out where she had been and what she had been doing would give them a clue. His eyes went a bit wide and the breathy half moan of Vander's name and then he scowled. Had his brother done something? No…Van wouldn't do anything to harm someone; especially not putting something in another person's body that was unknown.

Xally walked into the room, frowning a bit "Do you feel it?"

Cris blinked and looked into the turquoise eyes, "…feel what?"

The woman frowned a bit as she stood there, wrapping her arms around her stomach, "…it's calling, Cris. Whatever it is, it's calling out…"

He shifted from the bed and scooped up his sister, taking her back to her room with a quick and hasty spell to put her to bed and now he was worried. Xally shouldn't have been affected and they didn't know what it was. It hadn't bothered her in the day and early evening, so it had to be night.

Come morning, Cristoff started his research and what he came to, with the clues he had was frightening. An Incubus. An Incubus that was using a possible crush that Lucy had on his youngest brother to have dream sex with her and sap her vitality.

The Lunar Dragon Slayer came to one conclusion: they weren't prepared to deal with a dream demon.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The First Action was to call Fairy Tail. There was a Demon Slayer there. That plan went south when they found out that Gray was on a mission in Giltena. The biggest problem was that Lucy just wasn't waking that day.

She didn't seem to be in harm's way, but she was in a deep sleep that didn't seem to be easy to wake from. Cristoff had tried to wake her using a bit of magic, but that had set off the seed and he'd quickly stopped.

This damn demon was grating on his nerves and his dragon was rattling about their kin being in danger. The smell didn't help either; lucy was in a constant state of arousal that had him quite worried. This was how the creature fed and he started by setting up an IV to at least keep her hydrated and some nutrients in her.

The thing had called out to both Xally and Emzadi but after a sit down, they understood what it was and knew better than to answer the call.

"So, what are our options?" Kaleb said as they sat with lunch and looked towards the balcony that lead to the room that housed the Celestial Mage.

Cristoff rubbed the back of his neck, "best I can figure, since we can't get to the Only Demon Slayer I know of.." He let out a sigh, "Immaculate Light." He leveled a look on his older brother, "which means you can try."

"if that doesn't work?" Farron said as he sat there, frowning at the looks he was getting, "I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic. You're an amazing healer, Cris, the fact that this…thing can't be healed by you makes me worried nothing might."

"the Crystal at the Citidel," Cris said firmly as he sat back, biting into a piece of cake, "someone would have to go in with her…which…really we don't know what will happen, but she'll need someone to hold her up."

Emzadi drummed one flaming orange nail on the table, "Who do you have in mind?"

The lunar dragon slayer looked at his cake, "Kaleb or Van. Kaleb's Mastery of the Light should help and this creature is using Van to do this." He looked at the group, "I think they're our only two choices, to be honest."

The group sat there and Kaleb frowned, "that's dangerous…and intimate, Cris."

The lunar dragon slayer nodded, voice soft, "I know, but…I really have no other choices. This thing is old, powerful, been under radars for centuries, to the point that its kind are considered Myths, Kaleb."

Emzadi sighed softly as she sat there, shaking her head and then smiling ruefully, "Little Sister is very good at getting into Big trouble."

"I'll do it," Vander drawled from the doorway, "this thing is using me as a way to get to one of the sweetest women we know." For once, the man wasn't playful, he actually looked angry. "She doesn't deserve that, not after all the shit we know happened to her…and the stuff that we don't know either."

Kaleb took a breath, "will you be alright in it?"

Vander shrugged, "Should be fine…if we're really worried, we can try the Lacrima that's in the Academe Celestine. It should give her a boost and help her, right? Being a little Magic drunk should help her."

The group sat there and then nodded, Cris speaking, "we'll see if Kaleb can get rid of it first, then go there."

Vander pursed his lips, nose scrunching just a bit, "if it's a demon, even a small bit left will let it regrow. I say we go there, have him try to wipe it out, then dunk her in. just to be safe."

The lunar dragon arched an eyebrow, "we can do that." He wondered if Vander felt a little guilty over his inadvertent involvement. He wasn't Bickslow, but he could see a fondness that possibly went past friendship in his little brother. As a romantic, he thought it was beautiful, but he didn't want to push anything.

They planned the trip and Dean Kalperden met them at the docks. Hearing that something was wrong with the blonde that many there wanted to meet was worrying and it took all he could to keep students and faculty alike to come down; if not because of the woman, but the men that accompanied her.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The Chamber was filled with soft light, they didn't want to do this at night, but for everything, things would be more stable for the fading Lucy. Her breathing was shallow, but panting, a sheen of sweat covered her skin and she let out mewls and gasps of pleasure that had a good way of distracting Vander, Farron and Kaleb.

Farron was waiting at the side, going through his L-tablet, looking over documents he'd been sent about the job the blonde woman had been on, brow furrowing more and more. He spoke, even as he felt Kaleb start to work on the Seed, "she was sent to, and successfully, retrieved Lacrama pictures of an abandoned temple."

Cris watched, nodding as Xally was there, making sure Lucy was fine for now. They couldn't risk his magic coming close, no matter what he wanted, "and?"

"There is almost two days of unaccounted for time between her sending the pictures and her leaving to come here," Farron handed Cristoff the tablet, "a Temple to Lilith."

"Lilith," Cristoff sharply looked up, "the supposed mother of all non-zeref made demons…?"

Kaleb frowned and looked over at them, it was just a fraction of an instant and he felt the darkness in the seed start to grow. He growled as he turned back to what he was doing, focusing more on it than the conversation. He could almost hear a voice in the seed and that was helping him slowly cut the magic out.

"So, really good at finding big trouble," Cristoff sighed and shook his head, "But it's a dead religion."

Emzadi snorted in humor, despite the situation and feeling Kaleb's magic pushing itself, "so despite it being a dead religion…Stardust over there managed to find the one survivor on a job?"

Farron frowned a bit, "when you say it like that, it sounds like a set up."

Vander snorted in humor, despite the entire tense situation. "well, Laxus did say that though she's not an S-Class Mage in Fiore, she's an S-Class Disaster Magnet…"

None of them wanted to laugh, but each of the siblings snorted out a chuckle and shook their heads. They remembered Laxus saying that, Bickslow even said it, quite often, but they'd not really believed it to be fully accurate, not even Kaleb, who could read minds. Sometimes, things were just made fantastical in telling.

The group fell quiet as power seemed to grow, enough that Xally and Emzadi needed to step back to the entrance of the large chamber. The two feeling almost overwhelmed by the feelings the Seed was giving off, the beckoning to their inner selves, inner desires.

It was almost dawn when Kaleb sat back, shaking his head, "I can't get all of it…I got a good portion of it, but…"

Vander grinned, "hey, that's why we came here, right?" he stood, holding the blonde in his arms, "let's get her in there."

Cristoff stepped forward and then carefully put a hood on the celestial mage, taking a breath, "hopefully, just a bit of exposure will work."

Vander grinned as he let his brother take the blond and stepped into the lacrama himself holding out his arms and taking the precious and very aroused bundle of celestial mage carefully. Beneath the hood placed on his head to help block out the light to keep his eyes safe, a black bandana was covering his eyes. They truly didn't know how this would work, but it was a last ditch effort in an attempt to make sure that they were not the ones that had to tell Fairy Tail that Lucy hadn't made it.

There was a shuddering sound as the large crystal closed, lighting up and blocking the two from view. The glow started slowly, rising in intensity and was near blinding as the sun rose.

Outside, the Pradesh Siblings and The Dean were pacing casting glances at it with each feminine cry of pain and pleasure mixed. The creature was obviously not wanting to give up. Inside, it was another story completely. Vander couldn't pace if he wanted to, but he could grit his teeth against the pain of the Light.

Then he was gritting his teeth in a whole different way as the light did as he'd heard it did with couples: Shared their pasts. He was shocked to find early, hazy memories of his own Father, Granier, Lucy's mother, Farron and even Zen. As the Light flowed through it all, trying to find darkness, Vander got to see so much of her life. Her Mother's death, her father's neglect, the reason she ran away and entered Fairy Tail, every single thing that her Team had done to anger her, every single time she'd been kidnapped and used for an attempt to take over the world – he'd muse later on that maybe having all of the mages that used the magic of the heavens in one place was a bad thing – the Fateful S-Class Missions – and he could tell his brother and Freed threw that fight – The Grand Magic Games, Everything Hesui did. The fight with Tartarus took his breath away, seeing the sacrifice she'd made and then how people just left her, again, without too much at all. He recalled that Laxus and the Thunder Legion had come, but she'd visited via Sorcerer's Weekly for a few interviews. The Alverez war. This woman rewrote one of Zeref's books, saving Natsu, she had enough control and reserve to gather magic to lock Acnologia into a place he was cut off from things to make him stronger.

Yet, Vander was angry at her guildmates. They never checked on her, never asked her how she was, just assumed the smile she had was as genuine as ever; They never trained her, never helped her get stronger. She'd done that all on her own because it seemed that her team wanted a Damsel to protect, not a teammate.

He finally felt her body go lax, hand coming up to check and find her pulse a lot steadier, and a small giggle. "…well fucking hello to you too, Stardust."

Lucy let out a soft hum as she leaned against Vander, his life had not been easy, she'd seen it all, his tragic childhood, his adoption, the steel council, those jobs made her shudder in horror, his freedom from them and she snorted softly, voice soft, "I will never call you a lazy bastard again."

The light soon faded and the lacrama slowly lifted off them, Vander taking off the hood and looking out, only to have his vision blocked by what appeared to be a black rose, "don't move, stardust."

He slowly reached behind her, feeling the stem before, finding it at the base of her skull. The Shadowquip slowly nodded and his brother's came forward, Cristoff working with Kaleb for a moment before they gently pulled..and pulled…the sheer amount of roots on the rose made him shudder as it was thrown aside.

He was disgusted, that thing, and it's roots..the sizes and everything, it had taken over her blood vessels, most likely going through her body and trying to squeeze her heart. He watched as Kaleb burned it with the Light.

Lucy smiled as she looked around, "what…happened?"

They debated and then Emzadi snorted, "you found trouble."

"lucky lucy, my fucking ass," the blonde snarled, shaking her hair and blinking as she realized it was lighter than before, "…who fucking bleached my hair?" the small woman snarled and the group laughed.

"that, Stardust, would be The Immaculate Light," Vander drawled, chuckling a bit, "wait until you see your eyes."

One of Lucy's eyebrows twitched, "Vander, what do you mean."

Cristoff shook his head, chuckling "They're just…more gold than brown now." He would let her discover the crest on her chest later. She was healthy, a bit changed, at least a bit Magic high, because she didn't go for a Lucy Kick at Vander in her aggravation.

They settled in a set of Guest rooms provided by the Dean, bathed, ate and then Lucy looked around, she'd been fighting to actually think through the giddiness that she was feeling. "So…you said I found trouble?"

"an incubus," Kaleb said, grinning, "who gave you some really interesting Dreams."

Lucy sat there for a moment, wanting to sigh. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, she let out a low whimper as she sat there, not a helpless one, but a frustrated whine of need, "a sex demon. I've not gotten laid in a year…guess If I'd have gotten laid before the job, it may not have been an issue."

She ignored the laughter and snorts as she sat there and then smiled at Vander, gently patting his leg. She wasn't going to tell anyone what she saw and they'd come to a silent agreement to not talk about the thing either.

"So, what was the worst thing that Lucy did, Van?" Emzadi grinned as she sat there, "I want to hear this."

Vander looked up from his glass of wine, "nothing. Lucy's a fucking Angel." They all looked at their brother for a long moment, eyebrows arched and Vander just shrugged, "I mean, hell, if she weren't recovering, I might ask her to be my prom-"

"Yes," Lucy said as she took another bite out of her cake, letting out a low moan. "one condition."

"guh-wha'?" Vander just blinked, he'd said it jokingly. Even if she played it off as a joke, he wouldn't feel too hurt, now they just…knew each other too well for him to simply brush the small blonde off.

Lucy didn't bat an eye and smiled, leaning forward and purring,"I need to be eaten out, every morning." her eyes danced as she looked at him, "and...if your memories are right and not exaggerations, you're good at that."

Vander's mind just semi-flatlined. With what had just happened, they knew each other better than any one else probably could have, but she knew what was inside him. Wasn't she afraid? Worried? Anything other than, by the looks of it, more concerned about the cake in her hands and oral sex every morning than if he could accidentally harm her.

He could only nod mutely as Kaleb grinned, holding his Com up. He'd caught the exchange, thanks to barely caught the tail end of Vander's thoughts regarding the blonde woman and he could hear his father's cry of joy.

_"We'll have the paperwork ready by the time you get back!"_

Lucy blinked and leaned over, smiling and waving, "Hello, Arman!" she paused, "or should I call you Dad now?" she smirked as there was another joyful sound and then turned to Vander, "See…things always work out…" she grinned, "and I know you saw what that thing was feeding me." She leaned over and poked his chest with her fork, "I demand a proper re-creation." she smirked, "and red leather pants."

* * *


	10. Alternate Brimstone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a more Lighthearted Version of the "Brimstone" Prompt

Lucy's hand shot out, grabbing Vander's collar and yanking him towards her as she pointed, "Do you see that."

The shadowquip gulped and nodded. This wasn't sweet, kind and peppy, Light of Fairy Tail, positive Lucy. This was Scary Lucy…and she was pointing at a Balrog. The creature let out a roar and he watched as the woman spun and snarled, the creature pausing and then looking between the two.

After a few seconds, the woman pointed at the creature again, "Stay there! I'll get to you in a second!"

Vander tried to loosen her fingers, he could have easily slid into the shadows, but knowing how she was…he knew a lot better than to do that. If she was angry with him now, for reasons 'unknown', she'd try to murder him if he did that, "…so…that's a balrog…"

Her eyes narrowed on Vander, staring into the wine colored eyes, "yes, that's a balrog. A balrog that your guildmate summoned and lost control of."

All he could was shrug, it wasn't like they were in much danger…well, alright, if he had to be honest, the balrog had zeroed in on Lucy and they'd had little luck getting it to not follow her, and they'd thrown a lot at the creature, "…yeah.."

He watched her eye twitch as she stood there, blinking as she snarled at him, "Balrog. Do you know what they are?" He could only shake his head. He truly didn't and right now all he could smell, unfortunately, was the brimstone the creature gave off. "Fallen Archangel Mages."

Oh, that'd be why she was pissed and he paused, "…that's not Zen right? We've not seen him since he went to Minstrel…."

There was another roar and the woman rounded on the Balrog, "SIT!"

The creature blinked and sat down, looking at them with wide eyes and lucy took a deep breath, "I don't know."

 _"No, Zen's still in Minstrel…what's going on? Are you two alright?"_ Kaleb's voice was soothing against his mind and he could almost feel a purr in the blonde woman, almost jealous.

_"while we were running about, I had Crux look into what a Balrog is. It's a Fallen_ _Archangel_ _mage."_

_"Zen could become one of those?!"_ There was quite a few panicked feelings across the different minds that were connected and Lucy let out a faint sigh.

_"no, there aren't any Dark Celestial Mages left…this guy's probably…six…seven hundred years old?"_

_"Cosplayer…that's scary…are you guys okay?"_

_"yes, Bix, we're fine, it…He's sitting down and being good at the moment. Look…I'll figure this out, okay? I need you guys to check on that summoner…I mean…summoning's not that far from mine…but…this is demonic, I think, and well beyond anything I can do."_ Lucy let out a huff as she stood there. _"so don't wor-"_

Vander blinked as the creature moved suddenly, grabbing the blond and just disappearing in a puff of brimstone. His hand was still where it had been, holding Lucy's arm and she'd just..disappeared. he could feel the panic in the mind links and took a breath _"…so what was that count on kidnapping, Bix?"_

_"six months, pretty good for cospla- aww, shit, Van, really?"_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Kaleb knew that Mercien hadn't meant for this to happen. The Summoner had just wanted to try out a new summoning circle that he'd found, supposedly for a Fire elemental. Well, it hadn't been off, it was a creature made out of fire, just not the type that the poor, distraught man thought it would be.

Everyone truly liked Lucy, she was bubbly, kind and accepting, to just go over the very minimum; so the poor man was literally in tears as he tried to reign in his emotions. "I'm so sorry, I really…really didn't mean for it to happen."

Kaleb gave the man a small smile, he could see it was tearing him up and nodded, "it's fine. We'll get Lucy back and you can apologize...and maybe we can not use that summon again."

"if it…disappeared, it may have taken her back to it's realm…" The man ran a hand through his silver and black hair, "that's bad. Really bad."

Kaleb went to say something, but the growling Slayers that had claimed the small woman as kin stopped him from doing anything save lead the man to the door, "please go with Thane and see if you can find a way to bridge a portal to get there."

"That fucking idiot," Laxus growled, lightning just barely sparking off his shoulders as he sneered at the door.

Emzadi crossed her arms on her chest, "he's got a practically lost magic, much like Lucy. She jumps at keys, he jumps at the diagrams and trying them out. We can't exactly fault him. We just have to clean up the mess."

Bickslow sat back, letting his head fall back, "six months. Not Cosplayer's longest…but well the longest was when she wasn't around mages all the time." He groaned and put an arm over his face. Ezra and Natsu were going to shit bricks and use them as weapons when they found out what just happened.

"maybe she should just be an assistant somewhere," Thane said as he handed a tablet to Kaleb, only to blink as Bickslow made a rude noise, "what? She'd be good as an assistant…and out of harms way most days."

Bickslow shook is head, "nah, man, she did that at Fairy Tail for a bit. Got kidnapped locking up one night."

Cristoff looked at his brother, blinking slowly, "…she's got really bad luck for that…"

The Seith mage grinned as he sat there, "ya got no clue, bro, but…she's also been at the center of taking down a lot of Dark Guilds back in Fiore…"

"let me guess," Kaleb drawled, "They kidnapped her." He sighed as his brother cackled and nodded. The woman was an amazing person, but Rare magic always had this issue. Someone always wanted to use it for some plot.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It had taken the summoner two days to figure out how to open a portal to where the Balrog dwelled and he looked nervous. The collection of Dragon Slayers in the room looking ready to kill had him sweating and wanting to pass out.

The Doorway that appeared shimmered and they could feel the heat coming out of it, "…that's…"

Natsu grinned as he put a fist in his other hand, "I'm all fired up!" He let out a laugh before he was running through.

This action had Gajeel running after him, "Let's get Bunny back!"

Cobra rolled his eyes, strolling after the two, voice dripping with sarcasm, "Starshine really let's us visit the most _interesting_ places."

Vander blinked and then chuckled as he walked after Cobra, "Really? I think I'd like to hear about that."

The heat wasn't as bad when they got through the portal, but it was most definitely a plane of Fire outside the windows that they could see. The dragon slayers used their noses to find the blonde woman, blinking as she was relaxing and moaning in steaming waters, letting out a soft sigh as she sipped from a glass of wine.

In fact, Lucy didn't look like she was bothered at all as she soaked. The woman's hair was pulled up in a bun and she blinked at the scuffling, turning her head, "oh, hey guys!"

They slayers looked at the woman for a long moment before Laxus growled "that's all you've got to say?"

"I've just been waiting," Lucy shrugged as she moved to get out of the water, steam curling up her naked body before she grabbed a robe and slid it on, "it's been a month."

Natsu shook his head, "no, Luce…it's been two days."

Lucy let out a hum, "oh, time is different here, interesting. Might be a good place to train."

"where's the Balrog?" Cristoff asked, looking around.

The woman smiled as she walked, "sleeping, it turned to stone as soon as I got here. So I was just waiting it out, seeing when you guys would come."

Vander shook his head, "…is she always this laid back about this sort of thing?"

Bickslow couldn't help but laugh, "Cosplayer's gotten a lot better over the years with it, but yeah."

"Let's go home. The hot spring here was amazing, but…I was promised Boscan bathhouses with attendants," the blond woman looked over her shoulder and snapped her fingers, "let's go. I need sexy attendants, stat." she paused, "unless one of you boscan boys want to help?" she then simply stepped through the portal, humming happily.

Vander was sure he would never, ever understand the blonde woman, nor how calm she was in such a situation. One thing he did know, if she ever became a spy, she'd be fucking good.


	11. Writing Prompts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This starts a new set of Writing Prompts 100 of them. 
> 
> This particular set comes from Deviant art ( https://www.deviantart.com/queenpetra/art/100-Word-Challenge-List-146992265 )
> 
> These are done in no particular order really.

1\. Introduction   
2\. Poison 

3\. Abandoned    
4\. Crisis    
5\. Dream    
6\. Shooting Star(s)  
7\. Mist    
8\. Hopeless    
9\. Obsession    
10\. Dreamcatcher    
11\. Rose(s)    
12\. Clouds    
13\. Revenge    
14\. Insanity    
15\. Disappear    
16\. Shadow    
17\. Darkness    
18\. Illuminate  
19\. Dusk    
20\. Dawn    
21\. Quest    
22\. Thrilling  
23\. Pillar  
24\. Autumn    
25\. Teddy Bear    
26\. Snuff    
27\. Prism    
28\. Rescue    
29\. Broken    
30\. Wall(s)    
31\. Beautiful    
32\. Tonight  
33\. Empty  
34\. Festive  
35\. Melody  
36\. Purple  
37\. Panic Switch    
38\. Sanctuary    
39\. Spell  
40\. Rejection    
41\. Sword  
42\. Love    
43\. Yellow    
44\. Boogeyman    
45\. Downstream  
46\. Fire Ball    
47\. Challenge  
48\. Sneeze    
49\. Illogical  
50\. Intermission    
51\. Overrated    
52\. Contagious    
53\. Magnificent  
54\. Summer  
55\. Button    
56\. Fragments  
57\. Merriment  
58\. Rising  
59\. Blue  
60\. Hesitation  
61\. Courage  
62\. Unknown    
63\. Potion    
64\. Faerie  
65\. Pumpkin  
66\. Battle  
67\. Bow  
68\. Malice    
69\. Castle    
70\. Scythe    
71\. Lost    
72\. Ribbon    
73\. Bars    
74\. Death    
75\. Memory    
76\. Winter    
77\. MAGICAL WORD OF YOUR CHOICE!  
78\. Childhood    
79\. Sacrifice    
80\. White    
81\. Graveyard  
82\. Umbrella  
83\. Infected    
84\. Breathe  
85\. Forever    
86\. Apologize    
87\. Heartache  
88\. Invincible    
89\. Illusion  
90\. Prayer    
91\. Spring  
Paranoid  
93\. Jar Of Dirt  
94\. Magic  
95\. Needles  
96\. Golden  
97\. Dying  
98\. Red  
99\. Ablaze   
100\. The End


	12. Introduction

Going on a vacation, all paid by Bickslow, had been a dream come true to Lucy. She needed away from her Team. When they'd tried to protest, Scary Lucy had come out and they'd backed off.

She was currently getting her bags and ready to get off the airship at the terminal in Bosco and she could just die right now from the smell in the air. It was a beautiful smell, that relaxed herself and she knew it was the Grass Sea.

"C'mon, Cosplayer!" Bix called out and she rolled her eyes as she hurried after him.

Coming down the ramp, she tilted her head as she saw the group waiting for her and Bickslow. The Seith mage grinned as he hugged each one and let out a happy sound.

"Bixy, you going to introduce me?" she tilted her head, putting a hand on her cocked hip, "or do I get to point out each of your siblings?"

Bickslow grinned as he stood there, "oh, I gotta hear this."

Lucy rolled her eyes and smiled in a good natured way, holding out a hand to Farron, "fine, I'm Lucy Heartfilia. You're Farron Pradesh, Oldest of the entire Family, well decorated as an ambassador and taking after your father." She smiled warmly, _'totally fuckable. Love the baby blue eyes and I bet he can go all night.'_

Kaleb blinked once, then twice and arched an eyebrow, now that wasn't something he'd expected. He watched the blond with quite a bit more curiosity now.

She smiled as he kissed the back of her hand and bowed her head, "A pleasure."

"The pleasure is all mine," Farron grinned as he let her hand go, "please, continue."

Lucy's hand made a small flourish and she seemed to bow a bit, "Zen Pradesh, Formerly known as the Dark Eagle, one of the most lethal men from Skysreach, if rumors are true. Archangel Mage." She held up a palm, "no touching, I learned about your magic on the way here…" she gave a small smile, "I really don't want to trigger something, I'd rather get to know you. Though, I promise, you don't ever have to worry about me trapping you into something." Her eyes locked on his for a moment, _'also totally fuckable. Too bad it could be disastrous for us. He needs time to adjust to life even though, hells I wouldn't mind a good roll in silk.'_

Zen blinked for a moment, giving a stoic nod before he bowed his head. He wasn't sure what to make of the woman.

Kaleb arched an eyebrow just slightly as he stood there, this woman was, most definitely, an interesting person and her mind was quite good. He took her had as she turned towards him, "Kaleb Pradesh."

Lucy's lips quirked, "Guildmaster of White Sea, one of the oldest and most stable Guilds in Bosco. Mindbender, Wizard Saint, noted maker of many 'creature' comforts." She grinned _'and I know you can hear everything I'm thinking. Enjoy…though really…damn…you fill out that white leather well.'_

Lucy turned and grinned, deftly pulling her hand from him. She smiled at Cristoff for a moment and her mind purred before she tilted her head, taking him in, "Cristoff Pradesh. Lunar Dragon Slayer, probably the best Magical healer on Earthland. Ranked in the top three men from bosco that most ladies in Fiore would love to spend a night with." _'Yummy as fucking hell, but…not getting anywhere close to a dragon slayer again. Possessive assholes.'_

Kaleb coughed, grinning a bit and chuckling, "that's news to us."

Cristoff chuckled a bit as he took her hand moving to kiss it, only to blink when she patted his cheek, "I feel suddenly denied."

Lucy shrugged, "Dragon Slayers aren't my type. I've got too many of them in my life now that are pain in the asses."

"ooh, fucking snap," Vander laughed as he stood there, "shit, man, that's gotta sting."

 _'oh, someone needs put in their place.'_ Lucy looked at Vander out of the corner of her eye, "Vander Pradesh, shadow mage, general pain in the ass, Trickster. Also no one I'd sleep with." She smirked at his deflated look and then chuckled softly before smiling to Emzadi and Xally, "Two of the most beautiful women, Emzadi and Xally Pradesh. Solar Dragon Slayer and a water mage. Voted in Sin to be the two women they'd love to have step on them." _'…if I was into women, I'd totally bed them.'_

She gave both of the women a hug and then smiled turning to Arman. Kaleb blinking at the sudden onslaught of thoughts about his father, "Arman Pradesh, Ambassador. The man I wish My father could have been." She put a hand on her hip and wagged a finger at him, "and voted the top man over Forty that would be the best night of one's life." _'damn, he looks good. I bet he knows his way around a woman like no one does.'_

Kaleb just blinked at the sudden thought and then cleared his throat, "so.."

Arman looked at Lucy, smiling softly, "Layla would be proud." He gently cupped her cheek as he stood there and the small blonde leaned into it. "I miss her."

Lucy smiled softly, "I know, Father started burning the letters after the first few. Took awhile to get on my feet enough."

Bickslow blinked slowly, "I feel like I missed something."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "..he's my godfather, Bix, but…Father was a fucking twat and cut me off from everything….and not like I could fucking get a ticket to Bosco easy with Destructo Dragon Slayer as my partner."

Bickslow gave a small nod and then shook his head, "Right, introductions over…who's up for lunch?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at all the laughter and moved with the group, smirking a bit as she went. She thought for a moment, giving a mental image of herself and Arman and cackled suddenly as Kaleb fell over, "I win. Stay out of my head."


	13. Abandoned

They'd all run off. She knew it was the club in their hotel, but still! One by one people drifted away and disappeared from her view. The blonde woman huffed as she flopped into a seat in the smoking lounge of the club, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting it.

She was drunk, she was horny as hell…and instead of going out into the bump and grind of the dance floor, she was so fucking pissed she was smoking.

At Bickslow's insistence, the group of Fairy Women had gone to Bosco to enjoy a week "girls only (and gay men) get away". It was halfway through the week, and the most action she'd gotten was a very well ripped, well versed attendant in the bath houses. She wanted to think something was broken with her, but none of the guys that approached her did anything. They were just too young.

She'd fought tooth, nail and run away from a marriage to an older man, but this was different. She wasn't being forced and she damn well knew that boscan men – and women – were wonderful fucking lovers. For the life of her, however, none of the guys clicked past dancing and some talking. There were some quite intelligent ones, but she wanted something that would truly engage her…which was why she was in the smoking lounge.

She smiled to a few of the older men in there and truly wished she had thought to grab a drink. Honey eyes blinked owlishly as a tumbler was set down.

"I've found that a good bourbon goes with a cigar or cigarette," it was a velvety voice that drew her eyes up the arm that set the glass down. The tattoo was yummy. She always did like those. She half wondered what was under that silk shirt.

She gave the man a small smile and then her inner minx just _purred_ when it saw jade eyes. Oh, she knew this face. A bit older than she remembered, but she had been fairly young when she'd seen pictures before of the man. "oh, fuck me," was the only thing that came out of her mouth on a breathy murmur that was **almost** demure.

The man arched an eyebrow and grinned, "well, that's the most original proposition I've had in awhile, most people ask if I'm promised first."

Lucy couldn't even find it in her to blush. The man was refined, elegant, defined jaw and eyes that were a beautiful light shade of jade that she wasn't sure he was real. She leaned forward and picked up the settled down glass and slowly took a sip to gather her mind for a moment and ignore the heat in her core. "I'm a Fairy Tail mage…sometimes we don't have a filter."

Lucy decided to try her luck and shifted in her seat, moving to languidly cross her legs, watching as the jade eyes darted down to follow the movement and she just caught the tongue darting out. She knew how short her skirt was and she knew she was wearing a very racy emerald green thong beneath the tight fabric; a girl did have to worry about panty lines, after all. She damn near purred at the way the jade eyes followed her legs and right up to what could barely be seen.

She took a shuddering breath as she sipped the drink, watching the intense eyes before she spoke, voice husky, "Ambassador, are you promised?"

The man grinned slightly and shook his head, "not at all, miss…?"

Lucy tossed her head back, downing the drink, "Lucy." Her honeyed eyes darkened as she set the glass down, leaning forward and snubbing out the cigarette in her hand, "Share pleasure with me, Ambassador…I've always wondered if Boscan men aged like a fine whiskey or a scotch in the bedroom."

"Lucy, my dear…you have much to learn." The dark haired man slowly stood, holding out a hand that she eagerly took.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Arman could admit, this was the type of woman that his sons, still out in the main area of the club, would have normally snatched up first. He was not against pleasure, and perhaps she was a bit on the younger side, but she was in this club and consenting. He could deal with anything that came from younger lust later.

He felt the well endowed and small body curl into his side as he carefully lead her towards one of the exits. The pleasure rooms were all full, as noted by a small light behind the bar and truly, this little gem deserved a good night.

They retired to a room upstairs of the club, the small woman purring as he ran his hands over her sides and arched. He had to wonder when the last time she actually had a good lover was or if she was simply that responsive. She didn't tear her clothes off, no, she allowed him to slowly take them off, lips curling over the pale skin and tasting every inch he could.

He'd found younger women did seem to want to rush this type of interaction if they weren't Boscan and this young and perky Fiorian woman seemed perfectly fine to actually let him take his time. Arman couldn't help but let his own low moan join the gasps of the woman that was astride him. The coupling was slow and sensual, their bodies moving in slow tandem that had built a heat between their bodies.

Each arch and curve of her body had him captivated, the gasped and cries that his movements tore from her lips driving him to further depths and when exhaustion finally swept over the two of them, she settled against his side, panting and gasping.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*

He was not happy with his awakening, nor the door flying open. The man let out a low growl as the woman that had previously been molded to her side sat straight up and snarled. He smirked as his jade eyes slowly opened and he looked towards the door, arching an eyebrow as he saw Kaleb standing there, mouth opening and closing in shock.

"…for the fucking sake of the stars, I will fucking KILL you," Lucy snarled, hair tangled from a long night of pleasure, magical circles appearing in her eyes and Eighty Eight Orbs of light suddenly springing into being around the bed

Bickslow called from the hallway, "I told you, Bro…Lucy's mean in the mornings."

"…hello, Lucy…Dad.." Kaleb cleared his throat, "Lucy. Your friends were worried. I apologize for the rude awakening."

Cana poked her head into the door, "hey Lu…whoa, who's your Daddy?"

The pair on the bed looked at the assembled mages and Lucy purred as the magic disappeared, patting Arman's chest, "This guy. Holy Stars, best night ever."


	14. Poison

"okay, ladies, time to pick your poison!" Cana grinned as she sat back, the women settled at the bar in Fairy Tail proper.

There was a party going on, and Lucy wasn't sure exactly what they were celebrating. Honestly, she was about five cocktails down and she was lucky to be standing. When the tequila was put in front of her, she absently mused, "mmm, tequila…should be doing body shots, not straight."

The brunette stared at her normally reserved friend as she put the shot back, blinking "well…we've got plenty of guys here."

Lucy's eyes slowly rolled over the guild hall, then her head lolled back to look at Cana, "okay, lemme rephrase that." She curled her nose delicately as she heard the slur in her voice starting and picked up one of the potato skins off the plate in front of her. Devouring it and holding up a hand before she swallowed and spoke again, "I want big, muscular and can handle a body for this."

Cana couldn't help but cackle. She knew that it took a lot to get the Celestial Summoner this far gone and she truly hadn't realized they'd barreled that far, "well, that would require a trip elsewh-"

The door opened and all of the women's eyes turned to the door. There was Bickslow, Freed, Laxus and four guys that had all the women watching with hungry eyes.

Cana purred, "so…pick your poison ladies…"

Lucy's eyes roved over each and every male. Bickslow she knew was good fun and had an amazing tongue. Stars, that had been one hell of a night and her inner self purred before she grabbed what was left of her cocktail and downed it, waving Kianna down for another one.

"…where the fuck did Bix find those guys?" Lucy breathed, "Because holy stars….I think I just put the celestial river to shame from the flood in my panties."

Lisanna giggled a bit as she wrapped an arm around the blond, "my fiance's brothers." She grinned as she put her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"oh, right.." Lucy giggled, "We're celebrating you and Bix getting together." The blonde pouted, "not fair by the way…share his tongue."

Lisanna's eyes danced, "We'll think about it."

Lucy half turned, kissing the take-over mage deeply before pulling away and purring, "you're an angel, Lis."

Bickslow really hadn't expected to see a party already and figured Lisanna had something to do with it. He tilted his head and grinned, "holy shit…that's hot."

A massive man, with deep hair and deeper blue eyes spoke, "isn't that your fiancé that's being kissed breathless?"

The Seith mage grinned, "man, Cosplayer's got a hell of a magical snatch. You wouldn't believe. Seeing her and Lis making out? Hell, I'll take a threesome there."

Lucy giggled as she picked up her new drink after downing a shot that was put in front of her, "mm, I wonder how they work together."

Lisanna giggled and shook her head, taking another small measured sip of her drink. "they're boscan so…" She blinked as suddenly the blonde was gone, bouncing across the guild hall and giving **everyone** a show. "…this is either going to end very good…"

Cana let out another cackle, "Go get some Lu!"

Bickslow was very cautious, even as his eyes followed the bouncing Blonde and he groaned, "…damn…I forgot how that looks."

Lucy stopped in front of the group and the guild hall went silent. "I'm going to ask this now…who here isn't promised! Raise your hands, nice and high!" The bubbly woman jumped as if to demonstrate, her own arm well above her head. "Because the Fairy Girls need real men and boscan men totally fit the bill!"

The men of fairy tail choked a bit. They were not sure that Lucy would remember this in the morning, but hell, the way she was looking wasn't half bad.

The Pradesh males all chuckled, raising their hands and Vander couldn't help but laugh as the little blonde let out a whoop of Joy with an accompanying bounce. They watched her bounce in place and could have sworn they heard quite a few warning growls from around the Guild Hall. Oh, this was going to be a fun party.

The blonde woman took a breath, "welcome to Fairy Tail. Hope you survive." Her eyes danced before she turned and skipped back towards the bar. Winking over her shoulder, she grinned, "come in, have a drink and pick your poison."

"Man," Bickslow breathed, "She's tanked…I'm jealous of whoever gets her." He patted Laxus' chest as the man let out a growl, "Consenting Adults, Bossman, consenting adults. Drunk or not."

Kaleb near purred, "and sobering up a partner can be more enjoyable."

"Rock, Paper, Scissors for the bubbly blonde?" Vander's grin widened.


	15. Crisis

Kaleb Pradesh, as Master of White Sea, was used to dealing with a crisis in a calm and efficient manner. Organizing things to counter the Crisis with ease and precision, but right now he was dealing with a Crisis of a different manner and he was attempting to figure out a solution.

He was still semi-stymied about how this had come around to be, but currently there was glitter everywhere in the guildhall. Finer glitter than he'd ever seen, in bubble gum pink, silver and gold. His mages had been working for nearly two hours to clean it up, but they just couldn't get any headway and Kaleb was at a complete and utter loss.

"So, since we couldn't find the strawberry cake that Erza wanted, I literally had to spend two days trying to make the perf-" Lucy's voice trailed off and she slowly blinked, "…holy stars, this is like the glitter palace from hell…"

Vander looked around for a moment and then to Kaleb, "…I didn't do this. I've been out all day with Stardust." The man actually held up the armfuls of bags to show his point. He couldn't have gotten away to do something like this if he wanted.

Lucy took a few steps and then wriggled her nose as she swept a finger over some of the glitter, rubbing it between her fingers, "Virgo."

There was a chime and a golden shimmer before the maid stood there, "yes, hime? Punishment time?"

Lucy was sure she was now immune to the question as she stood there, holding out her finger, "where did this come from?"

The maid spirit blinked and then ran a gloved finger along a surface, rubbing it between her fingers slowly and then putting it to her tongue. She let out a soft hum, "I believe this is some of the glitter that Grus was working on, for the starlight festival."

"and how did it get here?" The blonde arched an eyebrow as she put her unglittered hand on her hip.

Virgo stood there for a moment, "…I have no clue, hime…should I go look into it?"

Lucy let out a soft sigh, "no, clean this up. I'll have Loke look into it, Virgo."

"Celestial Glitter Bomb?" Vander chuckled, "that's new."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Grus normally doesn't let this shit out of her sight. It's created from the tails of shooting stars, rare as hell."

She sighed as she carefully picked her way to Kaleb, arching an eyebrow, "So…how's Freed?"

Kaleb gave her a bland look, "we've been trying to clean this up for hours."

Lucy nodded, "it'll do that." She patted his chest, "So, again, how's Freed."

Kaleb rolled his eyes slightly at the blonde, "happy you agreed to Surrogate. So that was one crisis down…and then this."

Lucy hummed to herself and nodded, "hey, I get a year long vacation away from my team. Works great for me." She grinned and then paused, "..they'll call by the way…you've not heard from me."

Kaleb watched the blonde happily bounce away, grabbing Vander and tugging him along to get her purchases put away. A Panicked Team Natsu, yet another Crisis to add to his list of Domestic Crisis List. It was the one list that he couldn't just solve with his Magic. Unfortunately.


	16. Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this connects to "Crisis"

Lucy smiled, at six months into a surrogacy, she was being pampered and after all the hardships, she wasn't going to rebuff it. Boscan people enjoyed moving to touch the large bump and she had actually not been attacked, harmed, or even known if anyone looked at her darkly – which she suspected not – for the last five months after she started showing.

While they knew she was carrying twins for Kaleb and Freed, the two didn't want to know the gender. Every time they looked at Lucy though, her little secretive smile said that, despite not having Cris tell them, she knew the gender.

Her new favorite thing was seeing what flowers would be swapped into the vase on her night stand. She'd truly been confused at first, but she'd gone to a Plant mage to find out things and each single blossom in the slender and ornate vase had her smiling brighter and unworried about the aches of her body.

At First, it had been a beautiful deep lavender bloom and it had made her curious. Learning that the color was meant to convey Adoration, she had smiled and gently played with the petals for hours.

The Green roses made her smile, knowing that they were well wishes for the child and herself. She truly didn't feel as much at peace until she saw what the flowers were swapped out with. She wasn't sure who it was, but it could have been any of the Pradesh boys or Thane.

One thing she did absolutely love is the clothing. The veil dress literally put the bump on display and had plenty of people wanting to touch. She didn't mind and often took walks with Ankaa, her Spirit of the Phoenix. The Spirit was calm and a healer in his own right, so if anything went wrong, he would be there.

Her favorite rose so far, were the deep sapphire ones that had actually been left out on her balcony and dew had collected on them. When the morning sunlight hit the buds with dew, they'd lit up like they were stars on a beautiful backdrop that was her own little mini-night sky.

That had left her crying and had two very fussy to be father's being torn out of bed to comfort her. It had taken Kaleb a moment to get into her mind, she could have easily let her defenses down, but no, not with Arman and Farron around on top of Kaleb. She'd found out they had a much more refined version of Erik's soul reading and sometimes she wanted to just not have her mental business poked into, thank you very much.

When the two men had calmed her down enough, they'd chuckled as they wiped away tears. It was then that they admitted they hadn't been doing it, but that they'd been sent through the guild, so it truly could be anyone doing it.

After nearly twenty four hours of bringing the twins – girls, which she'd laughed about and told the two good luck – into the world, she was exhaustedly recovering, barely there on the edge of being awake, but not looking it. She'd told them one chance, so, with the way things were, they were probably very lucky a little girl with emerald hair and another blonde with beautiful purple eyes had come out. They'd joked a bit, but after finding out Kaleb's eyes had been that beautiful deep purple before his immersion in the Immaculate Light, she'd laughed lightly. Elianna Lucy Pradesh and Grainier Layla Pradesh were adorable girls that Arman had doted over as long as the Guildmaster and his husband allowed the man…and could get them away from Emzadi.

The entire 'family' was flying in and would be there in a few days, well after she would be recovered from the birth and she wasn't looking forward to dealing with Natsu, but she'd deal. She heard a soft shift and from years and years of being kidnapped, her eyes opened in reflex. Instead of a single bud in the vase at her bedside table, there was a new one, that held ten and the colors in the vase gave her a beautiful message. She was perfect, the giver was grateful, enchanted, passionate, and had a deep rooted desire for love.

Her eyes slowly took in the large hand that was on the vase and slowly curled upwards. The scars around the wrist were the first indication and her lips curled into a soft smile. She wasn't sure he even realized she was awake and when she spoke and he started, she knew he didn't know.

"That's a very complex message, Zen," Her voice was soft, a bit raspy from the yelling during the birth, but her lips were curled into a satisfied smile. Eight months she'd had this mystery to solve and now she had the answer.

He looked a bit like a deer caught in a headlight as he stood there and she giggled, "you've given me an eight month long mystery. A man after my own heart."

He took a breath and bowed his head, voice soft and deep and sending shivers through her body, "you were…busy…I figured it would be a good distraction…"

"mm, sure…" her eyes slowly tried to close and she let out a soft sigh, "we can try something…we've been…around one another long enough to get to know each other…" and the Dean from the Acadame Celestine had helped make sure that they wouldn't end up fucking like bunnies and ruining what she was doing. The lack of pull during the last nine months had been nice, they'd actually gotten to know each other.

The Archangel moved closer to the bed and sat on the edge, a hand moving to gently brush her hair back, murmuring, "we have…now that you've been kind to my brother…I'd like that directed at me."

She grinned as her eyes closed at the touch, "sounds good…" they may not be succumbing to the stupidest part of any magic she'd come across, but he'd been there and had spent enough time with her that she felt more comfortable around him than anyone else, "I'd like that.." she didn't realize that she had drifted and mumbled in her sleep, only that when she woke there was a beautiful pale purple and very much in full bloom rose on her pillow that had her blushing at the meaning 'love at first sight'.


	17. Dream

The moonlight played over their skin and she had to let out a low gasp as her body arched, pleasure causing her back to bow, the ends of her hair falling into the water of the Grass Sea. Her hands slowly moved over the muscled shoulders and she let out a low hum as she slowly pulled back, listening to him groan before she let her lips slowly trail along his skin.

One hand moved to gently press him back into the beach sands, purring as her tongue slowly dipped down, tracing the eagle clan tattoo that rested against the delicious skin. She grinned at the moan she got and then slowly wriggled down his body further, nails lightly dragging along the skin until they dipped down, under him, nails digging into the firm ass that was hers.

Lucy let out a low yelp as she was flipped, his dark hair surrounding her features, mixing with her own blonde and she arched up into the hard body above her, gasping as fingers played along her skin, dipping into the apex of her thighs and then she moaned, arching into the fingers that lazily started to shift in her folds, finding places she wasn't even aware of being sensitive over sensitized with the simple movements.

She arched again, moaning loudly, "no more, please…no more teasing…it's been hours." Her voice was hoarse, low and husky from all the cries he'd torn from her.

She near melted into bliss at the voice that rumbled in her ear, "that's not how you ask, is it?"

Lucy let out a whine as she lay there, his own muscle keeping her in place as she writhed and then whimpered, not ashamed of the pleading, begging tone she was using. "Please, Sir, please let me cum."

As pleasure rocked through her body, the last thing in her vision was jade eyes.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

Lucy Let out a cry as she bolted up in her bed, hand to her chest and she sat there, gasping and trying to calm the fire in her body. She couldn't hear anything past the pounding of her blood in her ears.

It took her a moment to realize that she was in Pelerno, she'd traveled with Bickslow because the rest of her friends already had plans for the winter holidays. She didn't now why she was having dreams like that, but she quickly got out of the bed, moving to wrap herself in a soft, black silk robe that she'd gotten, purring almost at how soft it was. She slapped her face a few times before slowly wandering down stairs to get a drink.

She let out a sigh and mumbled, "Come on, Lucy, It was just a dream, nothing to get worked up about." The woman turned a corner, blinking as she ran smack dab into a large chest and groaned. Every man in this family was hot, some taken, but they were all hot. "I'm sorry." She looked up and then let out a whimper as she met jade eyes, the fire her dream had ignited and just gotten under control flaring through her. Oh, this was bad. She went to try to say something, but managed only a squeak before pursing her lips together hard.

"Rare to see you without any words, Lucy," The Patriarch of the Pradesh family stood there, wondering a bit. The lights were low, so he couldn't see too much and he used his magic to gently prod at her soul, finding lust in it was interesting and he chuckled, "are you alright?"

That was a loaded question to the blonde and she went to open her mouth, eyes going wide as her hands clamped over them seconds after, "Fuck me." Came out on a breath.

Now That got Arman's attention and one brow skyrocketed. "are you asking, or stating?"

Lucy let out a low whine as she kept her hands over her mouth, not trusting the filter to her brain and then couldn't help but whimper as the man slowly brought a hand up, pulling one away.

Arman looked at her, "I asked you a question." His voice was firm, but commanding and he watched her shudder at the tone.

Lucky lucy her ass. If it wasn't her magic, it was her brain and mouth getting her in troublesome situations. Her eyes looked up into Jade orbs for a moment and then after a few seconds of her mouth opening and closing, "both….Sir?" the last word was a barely there breath, "am I…going to be punished…for not…answering right away?"

Arman grinned, eyes dancing. Now this was a new development indeed. As he put a hand on her lower back he murmured, "I think we need to go over some rules before that…"

Lucy let out a whine as she let him lead away, after the dream, her body just flared to life with molten need and she nodded, murmuring, "…yes.."

"Yes?" Arman had an almost disapproving tone to his voice, but his eyes danced with mirth.

"…yes, Sir," the blonde's face flushed deeply, even as she was lead through the halls.

* * *


	18. insanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a One Shot that takes place in the "Finding the Starlight" story that I wrote (which is based off of the Concede prompt)

Ankaa watched his master as she rocked back and forth in place. Her hands were on her head and he could see insanity slowly starting to take hold of her. this was one thing his healing couldn't effect. The mind was far too complex for his magic to fix.

He could only think back to what lead up to this and his heart went out to the woman

_They stood in front of a dragon, though it looked as if it was part of the mountain. In truth, a full three peaks of the mountains were the large creature. It's head slowly swung down, looking at the small mage._

_"what brings you here?" The voice shook the ground, resonating as draconic eyes looked at the small blonde._

_Lucy swallowed, "I'm…looking for a way to guard a soul against void shades! Please tell me you know a way!"_

_The dragon hummed "I see you've gotten the cooperation of the others..." the dragon settled back down, "I can, but the price, would you be willing to pay it?"_

_"I already promised him that I'd pay any cost!" Lucy looked at the creature, steeling her nerves, "and I'm here-"_

_"I'm aware of why you're originally here, but…let's see…" the dragon reached out, claw touching the woman's chest lightly and it glowed, as he pulled it out, a weave of colors came, many threads starting to float in the air. Slitted eyes looked over the frayed ones and then the few that were still in decent shape._

_"wha-what?! Why are so many of them red?!" Lucy's eyes were wide as she stood there, staring at the magic._

_The dragon let out a rumbling laugh, "you had many possibilities of love, it seems, quite a few left as well. I'll take one as price to shield this soul."_

_The woman looked up at the dragon and swallowed before nodding, "Okay…"_

_The claw touched the one that had black slowly curling through it, "This one. I want this one."_

_Lucy swallowed, she didn't know what that one connected to, but to save Van? She'd do it. She gave a nod, "okay."_

_The woman watched in awe as a golden magic curled around the string, enveloping it before all of them simply disappeared. Then her hand went to her throat as she felt a familiar burn and tingle, knowing the dragon's mark was going right onto her skin "wha…what happened?"_

_The dragon rumbled, "Go see the person you wish to guard. Do as you wish, but know when the night ends, after you soothe them, the line I chose will be cut."_

_Lucy had nodded, taking a breath, "…okay…" she turned, blinking as sand surrounded her, "wha-what?!"_

_"that will take you to the person. Enjoy."_

The woman had been near inconsolable. If he was right, there were only two pure red strings left in her soul. One was damaged, but holding by a single golden thread, the other barely seeming to have any wear. He hoped that this quest finished soon, especially as he looked at his Master as she slowly sank into insanity.


	19. Dreamcatcher

Lucy didn't know what hit her. One moment, she was standing at the bar, the next there was a tear of fabric and she had a large wooden ring, some ripped fabric and some macramé holding her arms down.

She let out a sigh as she turned and saw Vander Pradesh. Trouble. With a Big T, not a little t. The woman arched an eyebrow, "…do I want to know, oh, he of the red eyes of mischief what this is?"

The man, she could admit was built, she loved the way he filled out that shadow made leather, mix in sexy black hair with **natural** red streaks in it? Oh, hell, if she wanted a quick fling, she'd hop into bed with him, but she was looking for something more solid, because of her magic. He flashed a smirk at her, eyes dancing with mirth, "well, it's a dream catcher."

"and why is it effectively…" she wriggled a bit, arms moving up as much as they could, "restraining me?"

"I thought I'd catch my dream?" He stepped in close and her breath hitched. She let out a squeak as thunder boomed and then cold, hearing laxus' echoing scream of vander's name in anger.

Lucy let out a small sound as she came out of the voids, shivering before the warmth of the air sunk into her. The destroyed item was slowly pulled over her head and she tilted it to the side, "was this necessary?"

Vander shrugged a bit, "I hear dreams can be hard to catch, I didn't want to take any chance, stardust."

Her chocolate eyes rolled as she stepped away, smiling at the hot tub close by and the smell of the Grass Sea filling the area. That'd be why she was cold, they'd traveled quite a bit of a ways through the voids. She carefully stripped down and slipped into the water. Being around Bickslow and learning about Boscan culture had made her less shy, unless Natsu and her team were around and then there were Fat Jokes. She let out a breath as she slowly sunk into the water. "I don't see a dream anywhere, Van."

The youngest Pradesh rolled his eyes, this woman was seriously hard to get to. She always had a comeback…and always a sad look in those orbs, even as she smiled. He slid into the water after his clothes slid away, back into shadows for the time being and picked up some shampoo. The man slowly started to wash her hair, grinning as she sunk back with a low moan, "oh? I do." When she let out a curious hum, he brought his lips down, slowly trailing them along her shoulder, "you, Stardust."

Lucy started a bit and turned her head, "Van…come on.." she shook her head, "I'm fat, I'm weak, I'm…not good for you, not good for anyone…"

His eyes narrowed and he quickly rinsed her hair before turning her to face him, both hands on her upper arms, "Stardust, that's bullshit and you know it. You're not **fat** , you're curvy, perfect, sinful." He arched an eyebrow and turned her body a bit when she tried to look away, "Natsu's a fucking moron for not seeing what he had right under his nose."

Lucy's lips drew into a thin line and she turned her head, ready to start arguing, but lips crashed down onto hers and she let out a low moan into the kiss. Her body shuddered as she was pressed between the wall of the large tub and a wall of hard muscles. Her hands moved, sliding around the youngest Pradesh and slowly, almost as if in fear, moved up his back.

When Van pulled away, he grinned at the breathless state the woman was in, "There, more perfect of a dream than before."

Lucy mumbled "you're a jackass." Before moaning at the grin she got in return.

"but I want to be your jackass," He leaned in, stealing her breath again as his hands left her arms and slowly moved down, sliding over her skin and drawing little mewls out between kisses.


	20. Quest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a few readers over on FF.net asked if this and the "Dream" Prompt were connected. Maybe. I don't know...do you, the reader think this a precursor to it? *tilts head*

"I'm calling a family meeting," Kaleb said as his siblings gathered.

Vander arched an eyebrow, "extended or just us?"

The mindbender shrugged, "extended but not including Dad."

Now that got the shadowquip's curiosity Piqued and he grinned broadly, mischief dancing in the wine shaded eyes, "oh, oh, is this another hook dad up meeting?"

Kaleb just arched an eyebrow at his little brother as if to say 'you need to ask?' and walked towards a meeting room at White Sea. He slowly gathered a few things as he waited, debating and letting out a soft hum.

The group assembled and Kaleb nodded, to the, "Alright, we're all happy…and…I hate to meddle but…"

Farron sipped his drink, watching his younger brother, "you're not thinking of setting him up again, are you? It didn't work well the last time." He gave Kaleb a slightly reproaching look.

"we'll find a better match," The mindbender scowled as he looked at his brother.

Lucy spoke, "just let him be." She gave him a flat look, "you're as bad as Mira, sometimes it has to just happen." She crossed her arms under her chest.

"denied," The guildmaster said, ignoring the dark look the blonde woman was giving him, "our Quest, Ladies and Gentlemen…is to find the best match for our Father."

Lucy let out a sigh and shook her head, ignoring most of the brainstorming and the folder of 'possible choices' for Arman. Her nose had curled a bit from time to time before she grabbed a rejected stamp and started putting them on every one of them.

Emzadi chuckled as she watched, "well now…none of them?"

The blonde's nose curled a bit, "nope, none of them."

"You're going to make this quest pretty long…" Xally frowned, "There must be one…" she watched as the woman continued to rapidly stamp the pages, sometimes multiple stamps. "…or not."

Kaleb shook his head, "the rest of us can look through these."

They all debated, going over the good points and the bad points and then Kaleb barely caught a stray thought. _'nope, nope. This is stupid, a man that hot should be doing this, not having his kids set him up!'_

He carefully started looking around, there were only a few women not blood related, so that left him with Cana and Lucy. Both of them were just outgoing enough to think something like that. The voice, however was decidedly Lucy's when he thought on it inwardly smirked. "well, I Think we're done, we've got a few to set dad up with." He took the folders, rolling his eyes as the feisty blonde slammed the stamp on his hand. "oh, I'm rejected now?"

Lucy stuck out her tongue, "I don't agree to doing this sort of thing to your Dad, he's kind and nice and shouldn't be pushed." The woman crossed one arm under her chest and then waggled the stamp at Kaleb's face.

He chuckled as she stood and walked out, focusing on the blonde's thoughts, he quirked an eyebrow and the surface and had to wonder about the depth of the woman that had just sauntered out.

_'can't wait to hit that BDSM club tonight. Finally a fucking night to myself…hopefully I can find a nice experienced Dom, because…fuck if I don't need to just let go for a night…'_

Given how much control she had to have over her life, from what promises she made to how she carried herself, what rules she didn't break, how straight and narrow a life she had to skate while being a Mage, Kaleb wasn't at all shocked at the thought and he grinned inwardly.

When the door closed, he spoke again, "Secondary Quest."

All the heads in the room whipped to him, questions of who filling the room, "Lucy. She needs a Dom."

The Fiorian mages choked as the words fell from his lips and his eyes danced. Mira, however purred as she curled into his side, "oh, you heard something in that head of hers? Now this sounds like a challenge."

The Guildmaster looked down at Mira and kissed her forehead lightly, "Indeed….so…"

Cristoff chuckled as he sat back down, "let's get cracking."

Vander sat there, arms behind his head as he leaned back in his chair, "Girl like her? She'll need an experienced one, probably older guy, who's not afraid of teaching someone the ropes and can soothe any flighty tendnaces…"

Cobra chuckled as he shook his head, "she's got plenty. Repressed to hell and back…"

That was how they spent their Friday night, with their significant others, mates, husbands and wives, trying to find the perfect match for their Father and for one Celestial Mage.


	21. Snuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Multi-part. Snuff, Memory and Sacrifice are Linked. Warnings: "Character Death", "Gore"

Team Natsu watched the recording with wide eyes. Lucy was beaten up, gasping and the person doing it to her seemed to be enjoying the screams and yells. They didn't know where the woman was, she'd disappeared on a trip and then natsu lost it when a spike of metal went through her body, a scream from her mouth turning to a gurgle before it rattled to nothing.

"LUCE!" Natsu was shaking as he stood there, his inner dragon going nuts over what was going on with his kin…no, former kin. She was dead. Shit. Lucy was dead. Someone sent them a film of them killing her.

Ezra spoke softly, "we're…hunting them down. Let's go."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Vander had found the woman just as she seemingly died, after he and the rest of the strike team took out the dark guild. They really needed to learn to stop.

He was pressing on her chest, Presca working to keep air in her and to her brain. They just had to wait it out until Cris got there. When the slayer did arrive, his eyes went wide as he moved to quickly start healing the wounds.

"What were they doing?" The slayer snarled as he worked.

Vander looked around, not able to help now and took a breath, "remote lacarma camera…" his brow furrowed, "never knew Dark Guilds did snuff films…"

Presca snorted, "what better way to torture whatever guild the mages they're torturing came from?"

Vander shook his head, "this is brutal." He glanced towards the bloodied woman, he thought he saw blonde hair, but with all the blood it was hard to really tell, and the only real identifying feature was the flayed off skin of her right hand. He wondered if there was a reason for that.

Cristoff snorted as he worked, "They drained her magic, but we stopped that ritual….this was just clean up, Van." He looked up, brushing his hair out of his face, "and we're damn lucky the full moon is tomorrow."

Vander looked at his brother and then pointed towards his hairline, "You got a bit of something there."

The dragon slayer rolled his eyes; he knew damn well he'd just smeared blood in his hair.


	22. Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2 of 3. Snuff, Memory, Sacrifice

The woman had been cleaned up and put in the infirmary of White Sea. They were looking to see who she was and Kaleb had a very good idea, but her mind was in tatters. The only reason her hand would have been skinned like that would have been to take off something that identified her, typically a guild mark.

Thane watched his guildmaster and then carefully slid a copy of Fiore's Sorcerer's Weekly to him. There on the cover was the woman. Lucy Heartfilia. The Light of Fairy Tail. Well, this was going to cause a headache, he could already tell.

He'd called his brother, face impassive, "Bix, are you guys missing something?"

_"man, we're Fairy Tail, we're always missing something, bro…"_

The Mindbender inwardly rolled his eyes, "let me clarify, a blonde someone."

 _"Shit!"_ Kaleb watched the pain in his brother's face, _"ya found her body? That was a fucked up film they sent us…but we just…don't know where they were to take them out. No marks to follow, nothing, bro."_

Kaleb studied his brother, "we found her. Cris was able to bring her back, we got lucky it was the night before the full moon."

_"tell me you at least tore them apart."_

He gave his brother a small smile over the com, "Well before we found her, but yes."

_"Great, we'll send someone to come pick her up…"_

"about that…" Kaleb took a breath, "she's got no memories...well, some but…"

_"kaleb, bro…how bad?"_

Kaleb watched the nervous look on his brother's face, letting out a breath, "her last clear memory is of being rescued, by a woman with a pink guildmark."

_"oh, right…they said something about a book that took them to the past…she was like…ten, at most!"_

Kaleb nodded, "she's got all her knowledge, but she just has no recollection of what she's been doing. Knows each of the keys that are brought to her, but…she can't recall anyone she's come in contact with, where she was living, nothing." He folded his hands and gave his brother a firm look over the com, "if what research we've done is right…she's always getting into these situations due to her team. I'm not releasing her back until she regains her memories. **If** she regains them and not just takes them in from magazines."

Bickslow knew better than to say anything, so he gave a nod, _"right…Flametard and She-Warrior find out where she is, they'll be making a visit."_

"Then don't tell them," Kaleb gave his brother a firm look, then smiled faintly, "we'll talk again, I have to go check on her."

_"okay, bro…we'll talk soon."_

When the call ended, Kaleb purposefully walked out of the room and to the infirmary, frowning as the woman there just picked at her food. "You need to eat." He heard the surface thoughts, hazy voices calling her fat and his jaw clenched.

"I.." The blonde looked at him for a moment and then looked down, "keep getting these voices…calling me fat…and I.."

The man moved to sit on the bed, "you're not fat. Whoever said that was ignorant. Right now you need to eat to recover your strength." He gave her a small smile, "trust me, Lucy, you're a bit underweight right now and you need to regain it and your strength."

Lucy gave him a small smile as she ducked her head, nodding, "Okay."

"Good girl," Kaleb chuckled as he ruffled her hair, earning an indignant squawk before he strode out. The few memories he could get to in her head? He didn't want her remembering. In fact, if he was honest, the thought to make the memories fade completely had come to mind more than once over the last few weeks., realizing how little of a push it would be, but…he knew that wouldn't be right. Memories made a person.

* * *


	23. Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3 of 3. Snuff, Memory, Sacrifice

Lucy sat across from Kaleb, she'd grown in the past three weeks since she'd been let out of the infirmary and she crossed her arms under her chest. They'd been staring at one another for a good ten minutes, the man not wanting to start the conversation.

The woman let out a snort through her nose and then sighed, "..you said they're…deteriorating, right? My old memories?"

Kaleb gave a nod, "They are. Whatever they did to you…while it won't take the knowledge, it's taking how you got it away."

Lucy gave a low hum as she sat there, "any chance it'll…get further back?"

Kaleb gave a short shake of his head, gauging and watching the woman, "no, but…if we don't get rid of this memory virus, it may start on recent memories."

She drummed her fingers on her arm, biting her lip and looking out the window with a furrowed brow, "so…theoretically..I could wake up every day, not knowing who I am…where I am…what happened when I went to sleep?"

The guildmaster gave a small nod, "it's looking that way…and the only way to fix it…"

The woman let out a breath as she sat there, "is to fully get rid of the memories." Her nostrils flared as she debated and then bushed a breath through her nose, "do it. I can't risk my spirits. I worked too hard. I don't know what I did to work so hard, but I know I worked hard…and I am not going to forget them."

The Mindbender looked at her as he stood, walking to her side and then putting his hands on her face, "this can't be fixed."

"Do it, I've made my choice. My spirits and what few memories I have over forgetting everything," Lucy curled her teeth back in a sneer, "which I won't do."

Kaleb had done as she requested, finally sussing out the spell that had been rattling in her head and left her to rest. He looked at his com and sighed, he'd told his brother what was going on and had said he'd call when she'd made up her mind. He took a breath, feeling a heavy weight on his shoulder and waited for Bickslow to pick up the call.

The seith took a moment to take the other in before he spoke, _"she got rid of the spell?"_

The mindbender nodded, "yes, but…"

 _"It was her choice, bro, don't let it weigh on you. Bossman told the guild that you guys found her and she just…didn't know anything about us."_ The seith scratched his cheek, _"pretty much told them that some mind mage wiped her mind. Team Destructo didn't take it well, but…she's alive, living and they'll have to deal with it. Cosplayer's just…not ours anymore."_

Kaleb gave a nod, "everyone saw her die on that film, Bix…the fact that she was brought back shows how good Cris is, but…it's probably best that Lucy Heartfilia's dead. It'll give her a chance to get…away from being kidnapped, starved by her own team, harmed by her own team. She'll be able to grow and move on."

_"yeah, gonna miss her, she was fun to tease…"_

Kaleb snorted, "She's going to be one of my mages, Bix, you'll get to see her." He ended the call as his brother started cackling. Right now, he had a mage to help adjust to life with no memories.


	24. Childhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the very start, the reason why "Star of Bosco" was created. it will be noted that I will say that the chapters that do come from the Star Of Bosco AU-verse will be said

Arman Pradesh took things very seriously, having been blocked by his Goddaughter's father for years to see her. He finally took things into his own hands.

It had taken until she was seven and a half to negotiate with the Magic Council of Fiore to check on the girl and then enough paperwork that a normal man would get bogged down under it, but he was leading a very skittish and bruised young girl into his home.

She was just a year younger than Xally, but when asked if she wanted to be adopted, she'd shaking her head, called him _Hygge_ and took his hand. He didn't care what happened to Jude, but the girl fell under Boscan laws as his goddaughter. She was currently staring at the assembled children and half hiding behind one of his legs.

"Oh, come on, they won't hurt you," He gave his children a very pointed look.

Farron stepped forward and then leaned to the side, smiling, "I remember you when you were a baby, your Mama was very beautiful. I bet you'll be beautiful as well."

The boy watched the brown eyes blink widely and then smiled as the girl ducked her head with a small blush and shook her head, "mm! no one's as pretty as Mama."

That was all it took for the small girl to be drawn into his family and he watched her as she grew. She'd blossomed into her magic, using his wife's personal library, and two years at the Academe Celestine. Now, at seventeen, he was taking bets on how long until his hair went gray because of her impish personality, or she settled down, which was his preferred hope.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

 

She was worse than Vander, had a collection of keys that had most dark celestial mages hunting her down because his children loved seeing her face light up with joy at new keys and seemed most prone to seeing where and when she could push Princess Kurino's buttons. Since she'd come to him about what she saw as an unhealthy obsession, she'd worked hard to make the crown princess lose her calm every chance she could get, and Arman knew she could.

Currently, they were at a rather formal function and Arman was looking out for both Vander and his goddaughter, wondering what they were up to. When he heard the indignant sound, he turned slowly to look, seeing the blonde girl curled against Farron's side, arms around him and her head on his chest.

"jealous?" Lucy grinned as she stood there then shifted up on her toes to put a light kiss on Farron's cheek. To his Credit Farron simply rolled his eyes, far used to her actions more than anything and he knew responding in any way would simply rile Kurino up to a much larger degree, at least more than his reflexive wrapping his arm around Lucy's waist.

"why are you touching him?" Kurino's eyes narrowed a bit, she wanted to light into the bubbly blonde that had come, yet again, in between her and her beloved Farron. She wasn't related to him! She had no reason to get close.

Lucy blinked slowly and got an innocent look on her face that fooled no one that knew her and pressed herself against Farron more, purring softly, "why, I'm his date! me" she pointed to her own chest, then to the princess, "not you. all of this..." her finger again flicked, moving up and down her body, "not..." the finger just idly moved at Kurino as if she didn't want to say anything about the dark gown the woman was wearing. Her lips quirked into a grin that she had come to learn to do simply by being around the Pradesh boys and purred, "why we even shared the same bed last night…" alright, so they'd cuddled, but the dark haired woman didn't need to know that.

The blonde knew the moment she'd pushed the Crown princess too far as she lunged forward at her. Lucy didn't even bother to worry as she fell backwards, shadows curling around her and then she was settled on a nearby balcony, looking at the huffy princess that looked fit to kill and sticking out her tongue.

"One of these days," came a drawling voice next to her and she leaned into the black clad body, nuzzling into the red and black hair and he purred, "you're really going to push her too far."

"mm, maybe, but…you may not be my siblings by blood, or adoption, but you're like…non-related family that I could totally take to bed," Lucy grinned against his neck, "and try to keep you out of trouble."

Vander let out a low chuckle and grinned down at the blonde, "that'll never happen."

"oh, what did you do this time?" Brown eyes looked up at him, dancing with mirth.

His lips split in a shit eating, self-satisfied grin, "Three Virgins, all on their way to arranged marriages."

"So that's why you're grounded," She pointed to the small band on his wrist, knowing fully well it gave a low toned sound pulse to let both Farron and Arman know where he was. she kissed his neck though, "But good job, I give you ten points each."

Vander grinned, sweeping them up further in the room with a quick hop through the shadows and settled on the large metal disk that the large crystal chandelier lighting the room was hanging from, "Guilty as charged, stardust."

Lucy grinned, relaxing as she sprawled against his side. She closed her eyes, patting his chest lightly, "peacock."

"slut," he grinned teasing her and both knowing he didn't mean it harshly; they'd taken a word that was horrible from her own life and turned it into an inside joke between the two of them...he'd never say it around anyone else and they both knew it.

"Untrue!" she pouted, "just looking for the right fit."

Vander lay there, thinking for a moment as his eyes closed, "The fit might be closer than you think, Stardust."

* * *


	25. Teddy Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star of Bosco AU-verse insight piece.

Lucy had been there a week before she had her first nightmare. The blonde sitting up in bed as she screamed from her nightmare and started when she saw Cristoff in the doorway. She let out a small whimper as she curled in on herself a bit and mumbled, "Sorry."

The Lunar Dragon slayer let out a low sound as he padded to the bed, crawling up on it and then tugging Lucy into a hug. He let out a soft breath and nuzzled her shoulder until she relaxed enough to curl into him. The boy let her cry and carefully laid down with her, speaking only after she'd stopped, "wanna talk about it?"

Lucy shook her head, nibbling her lower lip, "no."

He stared into her eyes and then nuzzled her gently, "you can. I'll listen."

She gave him a sad smile and nodded as she snuggled into his side, letting out a low sound as she sniffled a bit. There was silence for a while before she spoke, "..i dreamed …he was hitting me."

He knew who she was talking about and simply curled his arms around her, "you're here now. We'll protect you, even though you're not our sister."

He let out a low purr as she curled into his chest and held the smaller girl, rolling his eyes as she mumbled, "like a teddy bear."


	26. jar of Dirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star of Bosco Insight piece

Kurino was fit to be tied as she stormed through the palace. Someone broke into her room! Someone stole something from her room! The young woman was on the war path…and she had two mages in her sights. There weren't many that could get through the wards and other security measures in the palace! They had done so to defile her shrine to her dear Farron!

She turned a corner and heard a giggle and a whisper, "I've got a jar of dirt." Her head whipped around as she let out an enraged scream and then started after where she thought the voice had come from.

She tore through the palace, enraged until she was stopped from walking right out a door that the balcony was being repaired. She was panting and near frothing at the mouth as she swore she heard the giggled phrase again. She would **kill** them.

She smiled tensely as she saw her father, "Father." She clasped her hands behind her, trying to hold in her anger and rage.

"Daughter, is…everything alright?" Altiene looked at his daughter in worry. She normally was a calm, relaxed child – to him at least.

"someone stole something from my room," She took a breath, this was it, she could get them in trouble.

The king let out a soft hum, "That's not good, we'll get someone to track the person…what was stolen."

Kurino's smile faltered, "oh..a…a jar."

The man looked at his daughter and slowly arched an eyebrow, "…a jar?"

"A jar."

"care to…describe this jar?"

She slowly licked her lips, "…it has dirt in it…"

All the heads whipped around as they all heard the whispered and singsong tone _"I've got a jar of dirt!"_

The man watched his daughter run off and sighed as he stood there, this really had to stop. Two figures appeared at his side and he knew he shouldn't be shocked in the least bit at the blonde young woman and the youngest Pradesh boy, "…must you?"

Lucy grinned as she held up a jar that had an ornate label reading 'from the garden at our first dance' in the Princess' writing, "…I've got a jar of dirt."

The pair were grinning widely, similar devilish grins as he took the jar and sighed, "I'd ask you to stop, but…you won't."

Lucy giggled as she buried her face in Vander's neck, "not until she stops obsessing."

The king watched the two disappear in a swirl of shadows and sighed before murmuring, "please, Immaculate light, never let those two marry and have off spring." He was all for love, all for finding your perfect match, but those two being a match scared the hell out of him.


	27. Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star of Bosco Insight piece

While Farron absolutely hated the obsession Kurino had for him, he had to admit he had a bit of one with his God-sibling. She was wild, free, but had a heart of gold that just drew people to her.

She was sassy as well, and team her up with Vander? The two were neigh unstoppable. He appreciated all they were doing to attempt to get the king to see that his daughter needed help. His only lament was that the Steel council had roped both her and Vander into being Blood hounds. That was why the family forgave most of the utter off the wall crazy shit they did. To him, if they were doing that, they were not doing things like drinking or taking drugs.

The blue eyed man sighed as he sat back at his desk, slowly rubbing his face. They'd been gone for two days on an assignment and it was driving him crazy. He needed to hear her laughter, see her dancing eyes that had such sadness and horror buried in their depths. When Lucy had gotten Kurino to attack over them cuddling the night before the function a week ago, he half had wished they'd done more that night, not that he could admit it.

It might make a target out of both of them. He carefully filled a tumbler with some Boscan Gold and took a slow draw out of it, trying to think of anything other than the blonde haired woman that he'd known since she was a baby. He was man enough to admit that he'd had a small crush on her mother, but as Lucy had grown, to him, she was more beautiful than Layla and shone enough that he hadn't figured out exactly when it had gone from 'try to love her as a sister' to 'needing to feel their bodies together in pleasure'.

He stood as he heard the melodious laughter fill the halls and let out a sigh of relief, she and Vander were back. He had to admit, he did have a little bit of guilty pleasure because she embraced Boscan ways so well, enjoyed touching, kissing and he'd take any kiss he'd get from her, as soon as they dealt with Kurino.

Farron walked down the hallway, sighing as he saw the two half dancing to a peppy tune only they knew in their own heads and arched an eyebrow, "are you two quite done? People are sleeping, you know."

Lucy let out a squeak and turned, looking at Farron and it took her breath away seeing her flushed cheeks, "Sorry, Fare…we took a detour before we came back."

He arched one of his eyebrows, "do I want to know."

The two looked at each other and he groaned as Lucy did a little skip, tone light and lilting, "I've got a jar of diiirt."

Vander laughed as he wrapped an arm around her waist, swinging her about as he sang along, "I've got a jar of dirt."

"and guess what's inside it," Lucy laughed again as she was deposited by Farron and looked up at him with dancing eyes as she bounced a bit to lightly kiss him, making him inwardly groan at just the small touch.

He could only arch an eyebrow, "…a bunch of trouble from the Palace, if I'm right."

Lucy purred as she leaned into him and he reflexively pulled her closer, "mm, damn right. Her dad knows now too."

Farron sighed, "You two are going to get killed if you keep this up."

Vander slid up, sandwiching the woman between them, "we've got this, and don't worry…I'll keep her safe." He arched a very challenging brow at Farron, watching the baby blue eyes narrow.


	28. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star of Bosco insight piece

Lucy frowned as she heard a hiss and then carefully padded out of her room. She'd not been asleep, having just been relaxing under the stars with Vander. The raven followed after her, making a curious sound.

She carefully came to the Lunar Dragon Slayer's room and opened it, pausing for a moment as she saw the man in the pale moonlight, the blood that streaked across the skin and the pained look on the face that was semi-hiding beneath dark hair,  "Van?"

The Shadowquip looked past her and his eyes narrowed, "I'll get the First Aid kit."

She nodded, turning and kissing the corner of his mouth, "Thank you." She slowly stepped inside and then sat on the edge of the bed, "Cris?"

Lucy started at the growl and then brought a hand up, slowly holding it out. When he stopped growling and whined softly, she sighed and then slowly ran her hand through his long dark hair, "what happened, Moonbeam?"

Cris looked up at her, eyes barely opening, "…Kurino…"

She took a sharp breath, "fucking hell, why?"

He lay there for a moment and then made a fist, "her obsession. She said…if Farron comes to her…promises her…there won't be another time.." he took a breath, "I thought..maybe she was.."

Lucy nodded as she sat there, still gently curling her fingers through her hair, "over him. It's been awhile, she's laid low…" she took a breath and shook her head, "Fuck, Moonbeam…we've got to…"

"No," His rich voice was hoarse, "don't tell Farron, he'll do it…" his hand went out, gripping her thigh tightly and he looked at her.

Lucy's lips drew into a thin line, "fine. We won't go to him…we can talk to…"

Vander swirled out of the shadows, moving to sit and work on the dragon slayer's back. They both knew he healed quickly, if this bloody mess was what was left? He must have been pretty bad to start. His wine eyes locked with honeyed brown and both of them nodded. They'd take care of this bullshit. They were done with her.

Lucy shifted onto the bed, moving to curl out, though she didn't stop running her hands through the dark hair, "relax, Cris. We've got you." She smiled as his arm moved to curl around her and then she nuzzled her cheek against his, humming at the purr and she relaxed before she started to softly sing a haunting and old song.

When Cris finally fell asleep and he was done, Vander slowly moved to her other side, stretching out behind her, "I'm done with this bitch. He probably didn't want to tell anyone…I mean…hell, he probably thought he'd have a good night…not this…"

Lucy let out a soft hum as she lay there, "we'll protect them."

Vander murmured as he nuzzled her hair, "Damn right we will, Stardust." he grinned against her scalp, especially as she shivered at his hand trailing down her side.

They both stilled as the felt a presense in the doorway, _"and I'll help."_

Both half sat up and nodded to Kaleb, a pact being formed. they didn't want Farron Involved. He couldn't be involved, not with his career. Lucy spoke softly, "we'll start tomorrow." She smiled as the mindbender slowly walked to the bed.

She rolled her eyes as he picked Vander up and moved him, sliding in behind her. She swore, they were all cuddle whores with her. All of them.


	29. Boogeyman...men...women

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star of Bosco Insight Piece

Kurino woke in the middle of the night, gasping as she sat up. She looked around, staring at the shadows in her room with wide eyes. Another night, another nightmare about shadows devouring her. She shuddered before she slipped out of her bed and threw open the curtains to the large window, bathing the room in moonlight. She turned, watching the room again and then running a hand down her face.

Ever since she had spent the night with Cristoff, these nightmares started. It was wearing thin…and take into account that more of her personal things were coming up missing, she bet those two were behind it. Her lips curled into a sneer. She'd show them. Farron loved her, he just needed to be shown again, it was all that blonde's fault! Being Rescued by Arman, she was nothing more than a pet.

The woman snarled as she stood there, a pet that had her dear Farron forgetting her. It was fine, she'd gotten the Steel Council to know about her magic the moment the girl used her magic to enchant her beloved. A few more pieces and Farron would come into her arms, frustrated at what was going on with his family, begging her to fix it, proclaiming her love for him! She knew it!

She stalked towards her bed, ripping the covers off as she panted…and then grinned as she saw the chains there. Her hand slowly moved out, playing over the metal and she murmured, "Soon, my Farron, soon you'll be here, beneath me, being my king." Her eyes danced in the darkness, "giving us a beautiful daughter, a strong child…yes…"

 _"…this is where I point out she sounds like a Joyan war queen, right?"_ Vander's voice echoed in the link between the three people that were watching the scene.

 _"…lil bit,"_ came Lucy's lilting voice, pausing at the arched eyebrows she could feel _"…okay a lot bit. But we need to get her talking."_

 _"leave that to me,"_ Kaleb's voice rumbled across their minds.

Kurino stood there and then purred as she unlocked her nightstand, pulling out a vial of glowing yellow liquid, "And when you drink this, my Farron, you'll forget everyone but me, yes…yes you will."

_"…okay, that's succubus venom. Illegal I might add."_

_"would you shut up and record this, Van?"_

_"Gods, Kaleb, don't bunch up your thong. I am!"_

Lucy's voice snarled in both their heads, making them recoil, _"ladies, you're both fucking pretty. Kaleb, keep turning off the fucking filter from her brain to her sick and twisted mouth, or I swear to the Stars I will fucking put Taurus' axe so far up your ass that you'll be spitting cow shit! Van, if any of this is missing from the recording I'm going to put you on an X-Frame, get you so worked up you're about to cum and then leave you there, in magic suppressing cuffs so that you fucking can't shadow port out!"_

Both males mentally squeaked because it was obvious that the blonde was tired. They'd been at this for a week, not to say they weren't tired themselves, they were and simply handled the exhaustion a bit better at times like these. However they had to work Kurino's mental barriers down enough to get to this point.

All Three blinked as the woman threw her head back and cackled, "do you hear me, my Farron?! You're mine! I'll make sure of it! No matter what! You'll be in my bed by the end of the week!"

_"…uh…"_

_"…sleep depravation?"_

_"Van…just uh…"_

_"yeah.."_

_"we…I think…we…we're done?"_

They watched from their hiding place as guards rushed in, eyes going from the woman to the vial in her hand. There were a few moments of silence before the woman turned and started towards a door close to her.

_"get her!"_

_"just waiting for her to come through,"_ Kaleb's grin could almost be heard and Kurino let out a scream as she ran into the large body.

Their eyes met and the woman swallowed before screeching, "what are you doing in my chambers?!"

Kaleb held the woman by the arms and slowly walked her backwards, eyes glowing, "I think 'protecting my family' is the correct answer." His lips curled into a grin as she started to scream, the guards not moving as his eyes glowed.

Vander purred from her side, making her struggle a bit more, "you've got to watch out for the boogeyman, sweetheart…"

Lucy stepped onto her other side, smirking, "he brings friends."


	30. Mist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star of Bosco Insight Piece

Lucy adored Cristoff's magic, especially on a clear night like this. Mist curled around them and she spun in it, letting the wisps curl past her hands and wispily follow their path.

At Ten, she was happily enjoying her new life, feeling free, learning everything she could and being **encouraged** to do so! She had no more fear about coming across her father in the halls because she wanted a drink late at night to be hit, to be thrown down and yelled at. The memories still got to her, she knew they did, every time she woke up with Cris in her bed, she knew that she'd had a night of sleep that was bad.

She also knew when Bix and Van were having bad nights. She woke up curled between the three and feeling safe. She let out a happy sound as she danced in the mist and moonlight, Aquarius watching her from the waters of the Grass Sea while Scorpio sat on the beach. It was perfect, in her eyes.

She felt the power that was curling into her from the cosmos above her and she laughed happily again, spinning as she jumped, letting herself be caught up in the beat of nature, the thrum she could hear from the stars as her magic reached out to him.

Cris just watched the blonde as she moved and danced, smiling softly. He'd never met a girl like her and he was half upset that she wasn't his mate. Their magic shared so much in common that she would have been perfect for him. When he'd brought the concerns up to Nurem, she said he was a bit young yet for his dragon to call out to it's mate and he simply had to wait.

He hoped that it was her, because Lucy was radiant in the moonlight and seemed to be perfect dancing in the mists he could create.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Cris had let out a sigh as he heard about Kurino, the woman was stripped of her power, and being tried for essentially treason, because one didn't get Succubus Venom easily. He looked out at the night beach, leaning against the door frame and just staring out.

He could see her, dancing along the shore, laughing as the magic infused her and he was happy for her, happy for all of them, but sad at the same time. That night they'd found him, his dragon was rattling in its mental cage against his soul at what Kurino had done to him and when Lucy had soothed him, it had purred 'kin'. Not what he wanted, but…he'd take it. She was one of the gentlest, yet up there in the deadliest souls he knew. He half wondered why the dragon hadn't spoken regarding her before, but they'd both been busy and rarely had time to truly spend together since they were young, so he'd call it poetic in a way.

He snorted as she looked towards him and waved, he raised his own hand, waving back and then watching as she spun in the sand like some sort of sprite in the moonlight. To him, until he found his mate, she was still the most beautiful person in his world. She was the stars to his moon and…stars were just suns that were far away and without sunlight...there was no moonlight. His lips quirked into a nostalgic smile before he stepped out of his room and took off down the beach.

The bulky slayer didn't giver her any chance as he swept her up in his arms and spun her, listening to her laughter as he called his magic and let it curl in a mist around them. He spent the evening dancing with his Little Star, letting her joy and relief at being able to make sure their brother was fine, that he would be fine, that they'd all be fine.

His breath caught as her eyes glowed golden and he blinked as her hands touched his face. She leaned in, gently kissing him and murmuring against his lips, " _mio fratello delle stelle, tu sei la mia forza interiore. sempre._ "

Cristoff smiled and nodded, " _e tu sei mio. sempre_."

They spent the night that way, dancing like two stars in the heavens, letting her get her energy out as he did the same, feeling sadness and joy at the same time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

okay, lil bit of translation help:

Lucy: my brother of the stars, you are my inner strength. always.

Cris: and you are mine. Always.


	31. Death

The explosion rocked the entire group off their feet. Kaleb, Cristoff and Vander Pradesh were left in horror and shock at the utter destruction and death that was before them.

Let's…go back a bit, shall we?

The Dark Guild had been in Fiore and White Sea had been contracted. They'd picked up a few mages from Fairy Tail, because after delving more into the guild, they needed local help for where to go.

The bubbly blonde had laughed on the road as they walked, wagging a finger at each of them from time to time. They'd been going into what was a Magically Dead Zone. The barren area of Fiore that Etherno just didn't exist in, they couldn't replenish their magic containers, so they wouldn't risk just teleporting in. She'd given them a rather long talk about the barren land during the three day walk from the train station to the edge of The Barren, the history and how it was supposedly where Zeref had, at one point, let his magic run free.

She'd grown on the men and all three had jokingly propositioned her, Natsu had tried to get in the way and she'd cuffed him over the head, hissing at him that if she wanted to have sex with three men that looked like sex gods or sex demons, she would. That had been the end of the discussion and had all three of them watching the sway of her hips a bit more before they got to their destination.

Getting into the guild, taking down the dark guild, none of that had been hard. What had been hard was when they'd heard a loud, high pitched whine and Lucy was yelling at them to get the hell out. The magical pressure was building, but the woman was kneeling next to a device.

"LUCE!"

She waved a hand, "GO! Natsu! Just in case!"

They looked each other in the eye and the three members of white sea saw absolute trust in that gaze before Natsu groaned, "you owe me when we get back, Luigi!"

"yeah yeah!" she waved a hand again and then opened a panel on the device and leaned in, dark mumbles echoing.

The assembled mages had managed to get out of the building and Kaleb frowned, "someone should go back in there."

Natsu snorted, "She's got this."

Cristoff scowled, "What do you mean she's got thi-"

He didn't finish his thoughts as the building exploded and a boot hit him in the chest. He stared down at it as it fell to his hands, realizing it was one that the woman had been wearing. The inside was burnt, as if flesh had been vaporized.

Vander grit his teeth, "That looks like the same shit that took Mom…"

Kaleb nodded and took a breath, "Fuck…"

"..'stop being dramatic' she says in an annoyed tone."

The men turned, staring as a…grand father clock came moving out of the rubble, Lucy inside and shrugging. Vander opened his mouth and shut it, "…does…she do this a lot?"

Natsu grinned as he stood there, "yup, Hologorum always saves her."

Kaleb looked at the fire slayer, "…that's why you had trust in her."

" 'yes, but he's also a complete moron and would do anything for food', She laughs."

They looked and saw Lucy, eyes dancing and she was obviously laughing within the small confines of the clock's body.

Vander purred, "I wonder if there's enough room for two in there."

" 'don't fucking do it' she yells in aggravation.'there's barely enough room for me!' "

The youngest Pradesh moved towards the clock and the 'captive' woman, grinning, "oh, come on, sweet, it'll be perfe-"

The clock disappeared just as Vander got there, Lucy moving with precision as the stardust faded and her foot slamming into his chin, knocking him backwards and he laid there, out cold.

"…did she kill him?" Kaleb had to ask, he could just feel his brother's mind, but was well aware there were a few minutes after death that the mind kept going.

Lucy snorted a bit as she clapped her hands together, "no, but he'll wish he was dead in the morning."


	32. Intermission

Kaleb looked at Laxus and stared at the big slayer for a long moment, over the com, truly in disbelief, "…how…do you keep losing your Celestial Mage?"

The big, burly dragon slayer opened his mouth and then shut it. The look on his face said it all. He wasn't exactly thrilled, but there was almost a look of embarrassment in his features, _"She…got kidnapped."_

"Kidnapped," Kaleb could just stare at the other man. The guildmaster of white sea slowly brought a hand up, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "…then why are you in Bosco?"

Freed spoke when Laxus sighed, _"Miss Lucy was taking an airship, from the border of Fiore and Bosco, to Stella, on a requested mission. She never checked in when her ship would have landed in Stella."_

Now Kaleb understood. This wasn't just a kidnapping, this was a kidnapping on international soil which could go very badly if they didn't find the mage in question. This is why sometimes, the mindbender thought, that Celestial Mages weren't worth the trouble they brought.

"Alright, we'll get a rescue party out and searching." He ended the call without any more preamble before he stood and walked out of his office. After a few moments, he came to the balcony that overlooked the guildhall and pursed his lips in thought.

_"Cris, do you remember the Celestial Mage from Faiy Tail?"_

_"yeah, great woman, little overboard on the ditzy act to hide her anger at her team, why?"_

_"she's been kidnapped."_

_"huh, only been five months since I heard Bixy complain about them having to take down a small Dark guild…guess it is that time again…"_

_"should I be worried that she seems to have this happen often?"_

Cris turned his head, grinning up at Kaleb and shrugging _"our own have their fair share of misses, they just have teams that watch their backs."_

_"you're laid back about this…didn't you say she was Kin?"_

Cristoff picked up his drink and took a long pull, mentally snorting _"yeah, she is, but I've been standing next to her, distracted by someone…and poof, kidnapped. They're getting better at doing it. after awhile, Kaleb...you figure it's coming, just go and...destroy who is doing it."_

_"So…what is the term for the time between her kidnappings? Everything being fine?"_

_"Intermission between dark guilds being taken down."_

Kaleb sighed softly, fighting the urge to draw his hand down his face. This woman. He swore.


	33. Beautiful

The first time he saw the woman, her heart shaped face was framed by blue and purple shaded hair. She looked less than happy about the man whining as he followed her, but still had some sort of intriguing beauty about her…and not just her curves, because…hot damn she had them in all the right places.

"C'mon, Luce! That food all tastes gross!"

She rolled her chocolate eyes as he tilted his head. He and his brothers were there to visit Bix on a small vacation and they'd decided to see what they could find for dinner. The market had a wide variety, of men, women and of course goods. This however had caught his eye and even his brothers looked annoyed.

"well, I like it," She snapped at him and looked down, buying another fruit from a stand.

He knew those fruits, no one willingly liked them. They tasted horrible, no matter how you prepared them and typically were used as centerpieces on a table until they couldn't be out any longer.

"luce! Buy some of that chicken!"

The woman grit her teeth and the people at the stalls gave her a sympathetic look, as if they wanted to help but couldn't. "no, Natsu. I'm not buying it." She looked down at the man that was holding onto her leg, "Get off. I like this. I'm buying it because I like it." Her tone said otherwise and when he looked at one of his brothers, he arched an eyebrow.

With a snort, he slowly started over and looked at the two, "okay, look…Natsu was it?" He tilted his head, looking down at the pink haired male.

The woman smiled softly at him, "I'm sorry if he's bothering you…really…he's…"

When the pink haired man growled, she sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat, "I'm sorry…I'll…buy him something and we'll leave, sorry."

"don't worry about that, sweet," He nodded to where his brothers were, the men looking like night and day with light blonde hair and dark hair that was like the night sky. "they'll take care of it."

The one with dark hair, and darker eyes smiled softly and looked down at Natsu, picking him up by the back of his vest. When the slayer tried to speak, he murmured, 'sleep' and then smiled, "We'll take him somewhere to rest…"

The woman blinked her caramel eyes and then smiled, nodding her head, "Fairy Tail Guild hall…thank you." She watched as he walked away and he had to admit, he was just a little bit jealous at how her eyes raked over Cristoff's form.

"no problem," He grinned at her, an impish grin, "now…let's be honest…no one likes those fruits."

She curled her nose and sighed, "it's an acquir-" she stopped when he gave her a flat look and she sighed, "…I hate them, but at least it's something my team doesn't eat…"

His brow furrowed a bit as he looked at her, _"…is she telling the truth?"_ was all he directed at his other brother and slung an arm over the woman's shoulder, "why don't you come out to dinner with me? Get you some real food?" He deliberately turned her away from Kaleb, knowing the mindbender would carefully look through surface thoughts.

"I…I'm sorry…Really…thanks for helping with natsu…but I've got to go," she gave him a soft smile and then carefully slid out from under his arm. Her hand came up and she lightly patted his chest, pausing for a moment before she blushed and waved a hand "thanks though, smooth operator!"

"The name's Vander!" He called after her, watching as she looked over her shoulder with that delectable blush on her cheeks and waved before hurrying out of the market.

He watched her go and felt Kaleb stop next to him, "well?"

"They eat her out of house and home…destroy her home…generally treat her like she can't do anything…" The mindbender's lips drew into a thin line, "and she feels trapped…among other issues."

He let out a faint sigh as he blew his black hair out of his eyes and then shook his head, "…the fuck, bro…that's…some twisted shit…I think we gotta talk to Bix."

Kaleb arched an eyebrow, "do you even know who it is?"

"Bix'll know…" He shrugged and started walking, putting his hands in his pockets, brow furrowed in thought.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

The Second time he saw her, they were sitting with Bix and his team on the balcony of the guildhall, staring as she stormed into the guild, clothes charred and her now honey blonde hair frizzled.

"oh, come on, Luce!" It was Natsu again…and he was really starting to hate the Slayer's voice and how he didn't seem to care about much.

She stopped and then slowly turned, a dark aura surrounding her, "come on? For Fuck's sake, Natsu! We were trying to take down bandits…you fucking hit me with one of your attacks and between you," She poked his chest and then her eyes snapped to a redhead and a man with dark hair that had seemed to magically lose his shirt, "Ezra and Gray, you three fucking razed half a mother fucking City."

The two had the decency to cringe, but it seemed Natsu wasn't going to, "It's fine! We'll take another mission! Come on!"

She let out a snarl that had every Slayer but the one it was directed at tensing, "Why?! So you can fucking destroy more shit, Natsu!? So you can make it so I'm more broke than I am now?!" her voice raised and she let out another snarl, "No, I'm done. I'm done with you, I'm done with team Natsu! So fucking help me, I'm done! I'm done with Happy calling me Fat, I'm done with the two of you trashing my place! I'm done learning home repair because I don't have any money to get someone to fix shit you break!"

"but we're partners!" He stepped close to her, "You can't just do that! We promised, partners!"

There was a crack in the air and Natsu's head snapped to the side, "Fuck you! I already talked with Stasheface, he's not holding me to that promise because it's been abused so much!"

He watched as she turned on her heels and saw the tears in her eyes. He shifted and half stood to watch as she stormed up the steps towards where he knew Marakov's office was. It was only that action that let him catch the ball of fire that suddenly raced towards her and he was gone in a swirl of shadows, plucking the woman out of the line of Fire, no pun intended, before returning back to the table as the building rocked.

All eyes were on the pinkette and people froze as swirls curled up his body, the sclera of his eyes turning black and he growled, "Now, Luce…you don't mean that."

He felt, more than heard, the whimper from the woman in his arms, her face buried in his neck and he looked at his brothers. Bix looked a little scared as he stood, eyes glowing as he looked at the pinkette; Kaleb's eyes were narrowed and Cristoff looked ready for a fight. He gave them all a nod before murmuring, "it's fine, let's get you out of here, hmm, sweet?"

She gave a very small nod, shaking as her fingers curled up, sliding into his dark hair. When she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper, "okay. Somewhere far away. Please."

He took a breath and nodded, "don't listen to anything and hold onto me, okay? Just like you are now." With that, he simply drew them both into the shadows, just as he heard an angry roar and the sound of a fight erupting.

Vander barely listened to the voices as he traveled, holding onto the shaking woman. He had a few places to go, but 'far away' was relative. When they finally came out, they were in a lavish apartment and he held her, feeling her shiver, "okay, we're good, sweet."

She gently smacked his chest, mumbling, "stop calling me that."

Vander's lips twitched at the corners as he let his mouth rest near her ear, "Well, I don't know your name, because I doubt 'Luce' is actually it."

She shivered as she stood there, licking her lips and inadvertently licking his throat, "Lucy."

He smirked, using the arm wrapped around her waist to mold her body to his, "Lucy then. For now."

She gently pushed away from him and scowled, "For always." She rubbed at her eyes and sighed, "Fuck…" She looked around and then slowly sunk into the couch behind her, putting her head in her hands, "I thought I rewrote the book well enough…we're going to have to do it again."

"Book?" He frowned slightly as he sat next to her, watching her curiously. "what are you talking about?"

She looked at him from between her fingers, "…I really doubt you'd believe it."

He quirked an eyebrow and gave her a small grin, "Try me."

Lucy slowly let her hands fall and then looked at them, moving to absently pick at the nail polish she had on her nails, "short version? Natsu was Zeref's brother…" she nodded as she heard the intake of breath, "Who died…and instead of letting go, Zeref turned Natsu essentially into an Etherous Demon, got cursed by a god, my ancestor helped raise Natsu and four others along with some peaceful dragons…send them to the future, where the only way to open the pathway was all twelve zodiac keys done by her decendant…but because she didn't have all the keys, Mama used her own lifeforce, which then gave her Etherno Deficiency Disease…" The blonde woman sniffled a bit, "which lead to her slowly dying…I ran away from home after trying to avoid being sold off as a trophy bride to some creep duke…met Natsu…went through a bunch of stuff, found out what happened…the demonic side of him tried to over take him, we got the Book of E.N.D…and I rewrote it so that Natsu wouldn't die…" she gave a faint smile, "we thought that was it…but….I must have missed something, if he turned into E.N.D…The Book's…reappeared."

He watched her raptly through the entire short explanation, watching the different emotions flit through her eyes and over her features. Yup, she was, as he first thought, complexly Beautiful, even ready to lose her proverbial shit. He gently wound an arm around Lucy, "So…what's the plan?"

"we wait until they call…so that I can hopefully go back and work on the book with Gray there, making sure the demon curses don't affect me…again…" She gave him a faint smile, though he could see the panic in her eyes, feel the tenseness of her body under his arm.

Vander slowly drew his fingers along her arm and let out a hum, "how long can that be?"

Lucy shivered as she shrugged, "don't know…" she chipped off a bit more nail polish, "no telling..." she sighed and then put her face in her hands, letting out a frustrated sound. She let out a shocked sound as she was suddenly on her back on the couch, blinking up at him, "..wha…what?"

He quirked an eyebrow as a mirthfilled smirk curled across his lips, "I know a good way to pass the time." He laughed though when she rolled her eyes and pushed on his chest, "What?"

"oh, I know all about you," she tapped his nose and sighed, "not right now…thanks for the thought…" she gave a faint, sad smile and he could see the insecurities running through her expressive eyes, "I've got Business to deal with."

 

~*~*~**~

 

The Third Time was when he **saw** her, truly saw her and her heart and soul of gold. His brothers had helped restrain Natsu and he'd taken her back. The Slayer's – no E.N.D.s eyes snapping open despite Cris' Sleep spell and following her as a book was brought out. She took a breath as she nodded to Freed and a rune circle lit up the floor.

"are you sure about this?" The rune mage spoke to her softly as they stood next to one another, with Gray on her other side.

She swallowed thickly and then gave the Emerald haired male a nod, "as I'll ever be…" Lucy held a hand out and his eyes were curious as he watched as her delicate fingers curled around a light pen. She nodded once to herself and then took a step forward, "Stardress, Pheonix!"

Vander's eyes went wide as she glowed with the same light that normally meant a Celestial Mage was summoning a spirit. Instead, she changed. Her hair was pulled up, curled and pinned ornately with pins and gems littered in the hair that now had enough minute highlights to look like coifed Fire; Her shoulders were exposed, red silk sliding around her body as a knee length kimono caressed her skin. The embroidery on it was beautiful, almost captivating and the feather 'tail' that ran from the obi of the kimono made him tilt his head. Her legs had a long pair of Zori socks that shimmered, the colors moving as if they were in fire and disappeared into a pair of geta.

She took a breath and then smiled, "alright…Gray?" her eyes turned to the Ice make mage, at least that's what Vander thought, then he felt a bit of shock as A sudden Swirl of tattoos appeared on his skin and the temperature of the room just…dropped.

"…what the fuck," was all he could whisper, his breath being taken away.

'Natsu' purred from where he was being held, "c'mon, Luce, you don't want-"

"shut up," Her eyes snapped to him and her lip curled back in one of the sexiest snarls he'd ever seen before she stepped into the runes and knelt, Gray putting his arms on her shoulders before the book opened up and script just seem to swirl in the air…and right into her pale skin, leaving dark marks that started from her fingertips and tried to work their way up.

He couldn't help but watch her, the silence in the guild making the snapping of the magic in the air all that more palpable. _"…what is she doing?"_

_"rewriting one of Zeref's books…for the second time apparently."_

Vander snapped his eyes to Kaleb arching an eyebrow _"I meant the clothes, I damn well can see she's rewriting a magic book."_

He grinned as he looked back to the scene and the very unhappy looking Slayer…Demon…whatever pink haired moron as he snarled and barely seemed contained by the chains holding him.

"Luce, Ice Princess, c'mon," Natsu watched them eyes intense and sneered as they ignored him.

They slowly watched as even the power Gray was using seemed unable to stop the growth of the shadows along the woman's skin. "C'mon, Lucy…" his voice was strained as he obviously encouraged her.

She grit her teeth, writing furiously, "Shut up. Shut up. Shut the fuck up." He could almost see distraction in her eyes as she tried to work, "all of you fucking shut up." She let out a screech as power filled the air and the book started to dissolve, Natsu slumping over and she gasped, falling backwards.

Gray cursed and slowly ran a hand along the marks, the room dropping to a low enough temperature Vander could see his own breath and the Shadowquip blinked as the marks disappeared. Gray mumbled, "Jeeze, Lucy. You're too damn smart for your own good."

Vander blinked and then let out a laugh as the small woman elbowed the man in the stomach, "Shut up…and Gray? Clothes." The man then looked around in panic as the room seemed to warm up.

The shadowquip walked over, putting a hand on his hip and watching her with amusement, "So..Sweet-"

"Lucy," She looked at him firmly, arching an eyebrow before very slowly standing and poking his chest with one delicate finger.

He rolled his wine colored eyes, "-right, Lucy…what the fuck was that."

She grinned up at him and shrugged, "a writers mind at work."

"that's fucking beautiful," He smirked as he leaned in, "and so are you." He chuckled as her face turned bright red, "so, beautiful, what about that dinner date?"

Honeyed eyes rolled as she crossed her arms under her chest, "will it keep the flattery and flirting down?"

Vander arched an eyebrow at her and grinned, "no promises."

"fine, fine. I want good food though," She huffed at him, poking his chest then let out a squeal as he pulled her to him. her fingers curled into the leather he wore out of habit and she let out a low sound.

"beautiful, I'm going to feed you some of the best food ever..." his lips curled into a grin that had every woman in Fairy tail feel a flood between their legs, "Kaleb! tell Mister Elan and Dad I'm bringing home someone!" and with that, he chuckled, a sound filled with sultry promises and the two disappeared in a swirl of shadows.

Kaleb stood there, looking less than impressed "Dad's going to try to get him on a knee you know.."

Cris smiled, brushing his dark hair back and snorting, "maybe her light will finally pin his shadowy ass down?"


	34. Clouds

Zen enjoyed flying, especially above the clouds. His mind was always free as he felt the wind against his body and it helped clear his cluttered mind. It was a freedom that he indulged in every chance he'd gotten since his rescue.

He paused, wings flexing to bring him to a stop and hover in the air when he heard a string of curses and a roar. It took him a moment to register it as a wyvern and he frowned. The voice was feminine and definitely piqued his interest.

A figure flew through the air past him and he blinked owlishly as his eyes followed a blonde woman as she arched up in the air. Well that, he could admit, was new. He took a moment, realizing she didn't have wings and he shifted, ready to fly after her only to see a key appear in her hand and she yelled out a single word "Pegasus!"

The golden shower had a majestic winged horse appear, and he could feel the confusion from the being before the woman's arms wrapped around the large white neck and she scrambled onto the back of the horse. Alright, that was very new.

"Mother fucking, cock-sucking shit head gay dragon slayer!" The woman raged as she righted herself, "I fucking hope the next time he and Gray have sex his dick is frozen off!"

He blinked owlishly again, processing the mouth on the woman that was patting her hair down. He was having trouble forming words, especially with the sun curling over her body that had clothing on it that was almost completely burned away, the few tatters left barely covering anything and had him rumbling deep in his chest as he felt fire start to curl through his veins.

He watched as she patted the horse on the neck and kissed the muscle, wishing those lips were on his skin and he grinned, wings snapping before carrying him towards the woman and her 'noble' steed.

Honey brown eyes blinked at the movement and then went wide, "…holy stars, I think the river of stars just ruined my panties." She watched the winged man move through the skies and her eyes danced, then she frowned at the pull, shaking her head and he banked back as she let out her magic, clearing both their heads.

"shit, you're fucking hot," She breathed as they both were suspended in the air. She went to open her mouth again, only for the wyvern to roar out and she rolled her eyes. With a wink and an impish smile on her cupid bow lips she clicked her tongue and the horse dove down into the clouds.

Zen had only felt this sort of draw once, and only then it was no where close to as strong as it was now, with Hestor. He knew from the feeling, if not the flying horse that had appeared out of no where that she was a Celestial Mage. He should be wary but instead dove down into the clouds, following the pull towards her.

His Flecked purple eyes cleared as he came out of the clouds, wisps of the moisture left in his wake and zeroed in on the woman that had a glowing whip in her hand now and his eyes followed it, watching where it curled around the wyvern's neck. He let out a small startled sound as the horse disappeared and she swung towards the creature and her clothing changed mid swing.

He tilted his head as he banked, wanting to catch a better look of the woman. Her flowing hair was now atop her head in twin buns and the cow print bikini top barely held in the large globes that he'd seen far more of above the clouds. He let out a low growl of pleasure as his eyes trailed down her body, taking in the 'pants' she wore, if one could call it that. One creamy leg was left uncovered and one of her booted feet slammed into the wyvern's head as she swung up and over it.

Zen dove, following after the now dropping creature as the woman held on, feet firmly planted together and the using the whip as a makeshift bridle. He had to admit she was a heavenly sight to his eyes and then he snapped his wings as he watched the large creature slam into the ground, leaving dust and dirt flying in the air. He again hovered, waiting and watching before the whip curled out and he followed the glowing line before being shocked at the pinkette that now had it around his throat.

"natsu," Came a low and far too calm version of the voice he'd just heard cussing up a storm.

"…he…hey Luce…look uh…" Natsu looked nervous as he held onto the whip as he was held alove.

"Scary Lucy!" a small blur of blue screamed before disappearing behind a tree.

The woman slowly emerged from the dust and Zen's breath caught. She still wore the same outfit, but her steps left small cracks in the ground, "what did I tell you and Gray when I agreed to go on this request?"

"…be good?"

"no. fucking." Her eyes narrowed and she yanked the whip, the pinkette being hauled closer to her, yet still aloft, "yet…what do I find, as I'm waiting for the two of you to flush the Wyvern out?"

The pinkette whimpered, "um…about that…uh…"

Her hand shot out and her nails dug into Natsu's neck before she pulled him close, "I find you with your cock buried in him and him moaning out your name...I don't fucking care what fucking dragon instincts you have..." She sneered, "and if you fucking burn my clothing again because I pull you apart to complete a mission **you** asked me on…I will fucking rip your dick and balls off, have Gemini turn into Wendy and heal over the nub so that you have to fucking use a strap on, do I make myself fucking clear?"

The Pinkette nodded to the woman before he was dropped on the ground, gasping, "right, Luce, sorry, Luce."

The woman snorted and then turned, a bit of smoke coming out of her nose, which shocked Zen. He watched her and grinned as she froze. The woman let out a low squeak of shock and her face lit up red, "oh…oh, you were up…" she pointed up and then the blush slowly curled down her chest as she stood, seemingly rooted to the ground.

Zen smirked as he held out a hand, "how about a good fly above the clouds, instead of an impromptu one?"

The blonde tilted her head, looking at him with a cute, yet curious look before she tentatively held out her hand. He pulled her against his body and dipped his head, purring, "maybe we'll join the mile high club in another way, hmm?"

He didn't give her, or the man on the ground any time to say anything as he wrapped his arms around her and snapped his wings, shooting them up through the clouds with a grin.


	35. Rejection

Lucy hadn't thought that a mission like this would be anything but embarrassing, but as the music in the club boomed, her body getting caught up in it. Oh, stars, she was almost in the heavens, only without the spirits there to laugh with her…and, well, no loss of three months for one night of partying.

She was next up on the stage and she was watching as Cana was damn near fucking the pole to the heavy beat that was flowing through the club and lucy was half bouncing on her feet. She grinned broadly as her friend slid down the pole and bent backwards, winking at the crowd.

The blonde couldn't help but fan herself as the song ended. When the brunette slid backstage, the smaller was drawn into a hug and they shared a smirk as they purred together, "I want to fuck you like an animal…" The two laughed and Lucy let out a squeak as the brunette smacked her ass through the robe she wore.

"Holy Hells, Lu, when you said this border town needed dancers for a week, this was **not** what I was expecting," Cana purred as she nuzzled her friend.

Lucy let out a laugh, "please, this is like…the most Boscan we'll ever get in Fiore, I knew it was a good fit for you."

Cana pulled back and chuckled, "yup, so…what song are you going to dance to tonight?" The brunette had been excited, her friend hadn't bothered to share the songs that she and the manager had worked out and with the advertisement 'Faerie Ladies', many curious men and women had been drawn in.

Lucy licked her lips and grinned, "spoilers." She wriggled her brows as she took a breath, "okay…almost time. They're cleaning the pole up." She helped Cana into her robe, "So see anyone hot out there?"

The brunette smirked at her friend, arching an eyebrow, "panty dropping party at four o'clock, big, saw some boscan clan tattoos and they were way interested. Give 'em hell, Lu."

The blonde winked as she slowly walked out onto the stage that was barely lit, just enough to show her finger and started to slowly snap her fingers. Cana's jaw dropped as Lucy's voice rang out, lilting in the club air, "we'd all like to thank you for your patronage tonight."

Cana poked her head out as four of the stage lit up and the robe fell to show off a small white dress that sparkled, and little tiny angel wings. The blonde woman slowly walked around the pole before putting her back to it, slowly sliding up and down it, one arm above her head, the other slowly curling down over her lips and then jaw, down her back and then down into the swell of her breasts.

_I 'm alone, yeah, I don't know if I can face the night_

her head arched back as she slowly lowered all the way, back arching gracefully and Cana saw people just sitting forward in their seats as the seemingly 'innocent' looking woman's mouth curled into a slow smile, almost a sad look.

_I'm in tears and the cryin' that I do is for you, I want your love, Let's break the walls between us._

The blonde slowly rolled forward, the brown eyes slowly looking around before she slowly quirked a finger, watching the table of big and as Cana said, panty dropping Boscans before she slowly started to slink across the stage.

_Don't make it tough, I'll put away my pride_

Lucy paused, slowly rocking back onto her feet and letting both hands curl up, many of the dancers had hot, heavy and fast songs. She'd wanted something different on purpose and seeing the looks from the entire crowd, she was proud of her choice. She slowly licked her lips before letting her hands curl up and through her hair.

__Enough's enough, I've suffered and I've seen the light_ _

Her lips, painted a bright red to really pop in the darkness of the club curled up into a grin and she slowly let her tongue dart out, wetting her bottom one and she almost preened at the hungry look in the variety of colored eyes. Oh, baby blue, that beautiful lavender, sinful as fuck orbs that reminded her of the deepest red rose she'd ever seen and the darkest set of blue eyes that reminded her of her beloved night sky.

__Baby, you're my angel Come and save me tonight_ _

The four men just watched, enraptured as the blonde slowly undid a tie behind her neck, letting the outer part of her costume slowly fall off, the fabric pooling around her legs as she knelt.

__You're my angel, Come and make it alright_ _

__'…holy fucking immaculate light.'_ _

__'Van!'__ The chastisement wasn't that harsh, after all, he couldn't help but watch as the woman's hands trailed along her skin.

__'ever feel like you could orgasm from a look?'_ _

__'the one she's got is close.'_ _

The four men slowly leaned back, watching as she smirked lazily and then made a small beckoning motion with her finger, before it was put into her mouth. They really didn't even hear the music any more as they watched the show, the lyrics falling away but the melody well thrumming through the club.

_ Don't know what I'm gonna do about this feeling inside _

They'd stopped into the city deciding to go and Visit Bickslow, Van had seen the sign out front of the strip club and they'd been curious. So far, they'd seen no less than three other Fairy Tail women. Evergreen had locked eyes with Kaleb and though she hadn't stopped dancing, he heard her mentally cuss; Lisanna, Bickslow's fiancée had wriggled her fingers at them a few times, but not been too bothered, Cana, though they didn't know her had quite riled them all up and had the brothers debating on if they should way to escort the women to their hotel rooms for a night of relaxation; but Lucy? Oh, Kaleb could feel the raw lust they all had.

He silently mused as he watched the woman arch, his eyes following the way the light hit her skin, if this was partially due to the act before. After a hard and heavy routine, something like this could just take the lust and make it burn brighter. With no dragon yelling, Kaleb knew she wasn't Cris' mate, but the Lunar Slayer wouldn't disappoint if he found the blonde in his bed.

The woman panted as the song ended, her back arched against the pole and the clapping of the crowd was loud in their ears, the whistles enough to make Cristoff Flinch. Her head lolled to the side and she grinned, voice purring as she spoke, "Thank you for joining us, we all hope you enjoyed this evening's show. Please enjoy the rest of your evening and your drinks." She winked as she slowly picked up the robe, sliding it over her now almost naked body. The click of her heels on the stage filled the air before the light came on.

"I call Dibs," Vander said as he sat there, licking his lips.

Farron scowled, "no, you called Dibs on the brunette, One dibs per night."

Vander rolled his eyes, "threesome."

"no!" came the stereo reply from his bothers and the shadowquip grinned a bit.

Vander held up his hands in a placating manner, "Fine fine…I'll take the brunette….seeing as Ever's got this total aversion to sleeping with any of us because of Bixy." The man slowly rose, finishing off his drink and purring, "I think I'm going to go backstage now."

Cristoff's hand went out and then he yanked his brother back down, scowling, "Sit. This is the type of place that the dancers socialize after the show, no need to run off." He gave his brother a look, Van knew this shit, but obviously was a bit too happy to cause mischief.

Vander grinned devilishly and then picked up his drink, "this will be fun."

They all looked towards the voices as the dancers came out to visit and Cristoff chuckled as Lisanna bounded over and landed in his lap, "who's my big cuddly future brother in law?"

He wrapped his arms around the small woman, "nice to see you too, kitten. How's Bixy?"

Lisanna rolled her eyes, "he pouted because he didn't get to come and watch and Elf-nii did."

The brother's laughed and shook their heads, watching as Evergreen stopped at a table, making conversation and smiling before sitting down next to a hulk of a man with white hair. The two obviously in conversation as the Fairy Mage curled against him. Lisanna grinned and nodded her head, "That's him. He's gonna ask her to marry him, Bixy kinda made him think on it, you know?"

"so…Little kitty," Vander purred as he leaned over, putting his head on Lisanna's shoulder, "who are the other two?"

Blue eyes rolled as Lisanna pushed Vander's face back, "The brunette is Cana, and she'll near chew you up and spit you out." She watched his eyes dance and snorted, "she's at the bar, go buy her a mimosa and you'll be able to get her back to her room."

Kaleb snorted as his brother was gone, "That was rather…overly helpful."

Lisanna shrugged, "she's been trying to get in Van's leather pants since she saw him." She wriggled an eyebrow, "and she sure as hell knew who you guys were."

"and the blonde?" Farron sipped his drink slowly.

Lisanna gave both blond brothers a flat look, "Don't play stupid. Lucy's been in all sorts of magazines since the Alverez war." She smirked as she saw the looks on their faces, "you guys just keep missing her on your visits."

"Where does she run off to?" Cris asked, nuzzling the woman in his lap.

Lisanna sighed, "Natsu and her team just…drag her everywhere. Mira and I tried to set her up on a blind date…they literally crashed it and drug her on a mission." She waved a hand, "I know…we all know…they need to stop. That's why we drug her here. Saying it was a Girl's only Mission, got him to back the hell off…and Ezra's on an S-Class one, so she couldn't tag along." Her nose curled, "probably for the best, she would have gone postal. If only to protect Lucy's honor." The white haired woman sighed, "Twenty two, never been kissed…and I'm not even sure she's had sex."

"Dibs," Both blond brothers said at the same time and then scowled. They weren't against sharing, but 'dibs' was 'dibs'! a matter of principle, they'd set it out terms before they came in, simply because it was a quick layover.

Lisanna laughed, "Seriously, only one of you guys. If she is a virgin…she couldn't handle the two of you."

The lilting voice of the blonde woman was heard, the soft background music of the club mostly hiding the tik of her heels, "one, none of your business if I'm a virgin. Two, I'm not. Three…even though I really wouldn't mind getting laid.." Lucy leaned on the back of the booth, half spilling out of the robe she was wearing, "my muscles are sore, I want to go soak in a tub and sleep. Train leaves at noon tomorrow, Lis, we don't have time to screw around."

She cast the two blond Pradesh men an appraising look, "though…tempting, down boys, before you ask, the answer is a respectable 'no'." She smiled softly as she stood, "I'll see you in the morning, Lis. Have fun." She waved and they watched as magic curled around the blonde woman, the robe disappearing with a swirling bit of golden magic into a fur lined vest and a pair of paint on jeans that barely came up far enough to cover her ass, leaving only the heels that she had on. The boys swore they saw fox ears in the ornate hairstyle twitch, just before the blonde's hip popped, the last of the magic fading and a fox tail curling from her tail bone to sway behind her, just as another song started up.

"damn," Farron breathed.

Lisanna smirked as Timber started to blast, watching Lucy's hips pop to the beat, "Timber, boys, you're going down. Hard, especially Tonight."

"Best Rejection I've ever had," Kaleb said as he sipped his drink.

Farron smirked "Hate to see her go…" his eyes were riveted on the blonde woman.

"but love to watch her leave…" Kaleb smirked, "we know where she'll be tomorrow after all…"

The blond brothers locked eyes and both grinned, already plotting, Kaleb sharing the quick image from the woman's mind about being sandwiched between the two.

it was Cris that spoke, looking almost thoughtful, "aren't we on the noon train?"


	36. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star of Bosco Insight piece

Vander was not happy, none of the Pradesh family was happy…hell Lucy wasn’t happy…and Scary Lucy coming out to play was not a good thing. He’d rarely seen Scary Lucy, but when she’d finally asked about the extra place setting that was always there, while gently curling her fingers over the one they had for Bickslow since his disappearance nearly three years prior and found out, she’d been angry, furious.

 

The anger the blonde had towards Kurino was nothing like this anger. She’d set her spirit, Crux into finding information, attempting to see if anyone in the Spirit realm had known who was there that day, simply for revenge.

 

The result had been staggering. Zen was **alive**. The attack had been formative on the Patriarch and had affected Farron greatly, but this news was wonderful for them. She’d been draw into hugs with the crying family.

 

The kiss from Farron had given her was hardly ‘family’ and truly had her making sounds that had gotten both Vander’s and Kaleb’s attentions. It had not been missed by Arman, in the least. Competition was healthy for a young man, after all, but he could only hope that it wouldn’t impact them negatively.

 

“I’m. going,” Lucy stood there, arms under her chest as she snarled up at Kaleb, “I’m a member of White Sea, I’m one of the most versatile mages you have…and I fucking found him. I deserve to go!”

 

Kaleb looked down at her stone faced. He had two options, piss her off – he rather liked it when she was flushed for any reason – or give into her demands.

 

She poked him in the chest, hard as she sneered, “Emi’s going. Xally’s at college and that’s the only reason she’s **not** going. Kaleb Suraday Pradesh, you will not leave me out of this.”

 

Everyone in the room flinched. Scary Lucy was bad, Scary Lucy using full names? Even worse. Kaleb bit his tongue for a moment and then gave a faint sigh, “Fine, but you stay with someone. It’s Peregrande.”

 

Honeyed Eyes rolled and she waved a dismissive hand, her tone was slightly dismissive, but there was an undertoned purr of delight at getting her way, “yeah yeah. Okay, Guildmaster Kaleb.”

 

Kaleb swallowed hard. He’d seen her grow up, he’d seen Cris be sad that she wasn’t his mate. He, Farron and Vander were still trying to get her to fancy them in their own ways, but it seemed she’d always just lightly dance through their fingers. Frustrating woman.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

They’d struck hard, the great coliseum not knowing what hit it when the group of twenty mages came down on it. Lucy and Vander moved fast, both using shadow made blades to cut through bodies before they even heard them.

 

Lucy paused when they got to their destination and opened the door. She just stood there, her eyes blinking for a moment as she saw the very, very wary man with dark wings. She put her hands up and murmured, “hey big guy…”

 

The flecked lavender eyes watched the small woman, eyes narrowing as he flexed in the chains he was in. A growl rose in his throat, whatever was going on could be anything and frankly, the explosions could mean his own death. Zen blinked as she gave a low growl in return and stared.

 

She gave a small smile as she slowly walked towards him “grew up around two dragon slayers, growling is just a nice way to say ‘hi’ some days.” She took a breath and then moved to reach up, sighing for a moment, “…excuse me.”

 

“what do you mea-“ He trailed off as the small woman literally climbed up his body and he groaned at the sparks that he felt.

 

“oh, sorry…” her voice was soft and Lucy bit the inside of her jaw, she didn’t need this right now. They didn’t have time.

 

“Stardust,” Vander called from the hallway, “hurry up, we’ve got incoming.”

 

Lucy rolled her eyes, “I’m working here, shady. I’d say unbunch your panties, but we both know you don’t wear them.” She ignored the weird choked sound from the man she was climbing on and carefully stood,  “okay, big guy…don’t move.”

 

The blonde drew back, spinning the sword to cut the chains and then squealed as the man beneath her took a step simply from the release of pressure, “Fuck fuck fuck!” she tumbled backwards and then her hands went out, grabbing the wings and she jolted with a whimper, “Shit…”

 

“stardust!”

 

She snapped her head around, letting herself down before shaking her head, “Rescue mission successful!”

 

“we still have to get out,” Vander scowled from the doorway as he watched her saunter forward.

 

Lucy rolled her eyes and snorted as she kissed Vander lightly, “aw, poor shadow-shit.” She pinched his cheek before walking past him, “let’s go, Hygge will be happy…”

 

Vander let out a suffering, if indulgent sigh before looking to Zen, “welcome to the family.” He grinned as he wrapped his arm around the blonde woman and then looked seriously at Zen, “Don’t let go.”

 

“what do you me-“ Zen didn’t get to finish that as his world was plunged to shadows and the next thing he knew he was on an airship, gasping and cold, “what the living hell…?!”

 

Lucy let out a little purr as she kept her face buried in Vander’s neck, “that was sneaky.”

 

Arman stood there for a moment, blinking slowly as he crouched down, he gently put a hand to Zen’s shoulder as his eyes shone with tears.

 

 _“we’re pulling out!”_ Kaleb’s voice cut through the minds of the mages there; when he heard more destruction, he shook his head, like Emi would ever miss the chance to actually destroy something.

 

Zen swallowed as he looked at Arman for a long moment, “…Dad?”

 

“My boy, my precious baby boy,” The patriarch couldn’t say anything else as he pulled Zen to him in a crushing hug and cried into his hair.


	37. Potion

Lucy was not even phased by strange requests. She worked with Team Natsu, she got into more trouble than she knew what to do with. So a potion testing job, specially requested from Bosco? She knew it was trouble, but the perks were that she didn’t have to go with her team!

 

Laxus had given Kaleb the riot act when he’d dropped her off at White Sea’s main branch and she’d just waved a hand and wandered off. She didn’t need to hear it to know what her kin was saying. Keep her out of trouble, not a hair out of place on her head, not a single bruise, blah blah. Over protective dragon asshole. She loved him like a brother, really, but most of Fairy Tail was just…stifling at times.

 

Her “escorts” were chosen after the slayer left and she’d snorted as she looked at Vander and Kaleb himself. She internally rolled her eyes. Of course, Laxus probably brought up last months ‘issue’ with a cult in Stella that had ‘requested’ her and taken her to The Temple of Zues, offering her up in what would have been probably an orgy before she’d ‘noped’ and gotten the hell out of there with back up from Cobra and Bickslow.

 

In her Defense, it probably would have been at least a good night. She knew the building they walked into was a large alchemists guild, they did a lot of the work for making various potions that were sold in Bosco or used by the Sudehpah order. It couldn’t be **that** bad.

 

“thank you for coming, Miss Heartfilia,” The man that greeted her wasn’t as good looking as the Pradesh boys, but had an athletic build, especially for a researcher.

 

“you’re welcome, I still don’t see why I was personally requested,” She gave him a smile, “And ignore the two lugs.” She smirked at the small almost indignant sounds from the men behind her, “I’m apparently too frail to go anywhere without an escort.”

 

Kaleb knew it was a barb, the woman had a sharp tongue and an attitude that came from dealing with an unruly guild that rarely listened to any one. The Mindbender was very idly listening to the surface thoughts of the woman, which were mostly about the building around them and the oddity.

 

“Testing Potions could have been done by a local team though, I’d think?” She smiled at the man and the smile she got in return gave her the heebie jeebies. That was never a good sign…ever.

 

“Normally, yes, but this particular researcher had wanted to see how it stood up to Fiore’s mages,” He smiled, it was a smarmy smile that she had to force the smile she wore to stay on her face. “our own are quite hardy and this will be exported to Fiore.”

 

She stopped in the room and looked at the ornate potion bottle on the table, slowly picking it up. She ‘absently’ opened the stopper, taking a small sniff, “oh? What’s it supposed to do?”

 

“a beauty treatment and while you have no wrinkles or the like, testing it on a healthy and very beautiful woman to see if it will make them glow is the second step. We already had a few other older female mages come in and the results made them feel years younger.”

 

Kaleb frowned, the man had no mental barriers, but he hadn’t conducted the tests prior, only read the reports.

 

“Oh, well…” She frowned, “I see..” she shook her head, remembering the **last** time she’d used a strange potion and ended up invisible, a shudder running down her spine, “well…”

 

She settled on the offered seat, letting him hook her up to quite a few different machines and waited patiently as he ran some preliminary tests. When things were ready, she smiled nervously and then put the bottle to her lips, “Bottoms up?”

 

The glow that came from her was bright, making all the men flinch away. What was left there was an eight year old girl, blinking and looking confused before she started crying.

 

“Oh, for the…” Kaleb knew that this sort of thing had not been in the report, but it also didn’t help with each wail from the little blonde power was pouring off her.  “Find an antidote.”

 

The man stood there for a moment, sputtering and then nodding, “right...it will be a few days…I don’t think they expected this to happen.”

 

Vander snorted as he crouched down by the chair and grinned, putting his chin on the arm, “hey there, angel.”

 

The girl sniffled as she looked at vander, tilting her head as she rubbed her eyes. There was a lot of distrust in the chocolate orbs and she leaned back as his hand came out. “who’re you.”

 

Vander grinned softly, even as a kid she seemed straight to the point, “I’m Vander…”

 

“Where’s Papa.” She scowled as she eyed the lifted hand until it was set back down.

 

_“uh…Kaleb?”_

_“former heiress to a company. Business meeting. Logical choice.”_

 

Vander watched her “he’s at a big meeting, asked us to watch you.” He watched as her nose scrunched up, “c’mon, angel, how about we take you to see my dad? He loves kids.”

 

“you’re weird,” the girl puffed her cheeks out and then started at the laugh from behind the chair. She slowly stood, blinking as she took in the room and then looked at Kaleb, “he’s like an elf from my storybook.”

 

Vander snorted back laughter and grinned as he moved to pick the girl up, “yeah, yeah he is. We call him Legolas some times.”

 

The girl wriggled a bit until she was comfortable. Something told her they weren’t bad people, just…weird. “he’s prettier.”

 

Kaleb gave a long mental sigh as he gave the girl a small smile, “yes, well…let’s take you to see our Dad, you are staying there until this string of meetings is over.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Arman looked between his sons, then to the child, “you’re normally very careful about this.”

 

Kaleb shook his head, “I have to call Laxus…and tell him about this little problem.”

 

“good luck, bro,” Vander chuckled softly as he set the girl down and watched her curiously start to poke around, “Dad, I’d like to introduce you to Lucy Heartfilia.”

 

“where is that charming young wo…” the man trailed off and then followed the wine colored eyes to the girl, “oh, this is the little problem.”  
  
Vander nodded, “yeah…Laxus is going to shit bricks.”

 

“this isn’t permanent, is it?” Arman watched the girl, slowly following behind her as Vander fell into step.

 

The shadowquip shrugged, “no clue..hope not…Fairy Tail on the whole will explode if it is…”


	38. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Companion to "Potion"

It had been two weeks and the company had yet to figure out what went wrong, they’d attempted to take blood only to have the little girl scream in terror and curl into a ball. It had taken Kaleb to soothe her and Vander to distract her in order to get the sample and by that time, both wanted to know why she didn’t like needles. The girl was tight lipped and tighter minded about it.

 

Unfortunately, their urges were acted on by someone else; on top of the researcher being killed, his files were destroyed, leaving no clues as to anything, as all samples were used in testing. The news, of course, made it so there was little hope. The potion had literally wrapped around every cell in her body and didn’t seem like it was going to fade.

 

Kaleb had worked extensively with the girl and her mind, frowning at what he found there. Before the incident, her mind had been active, organized but active and now the more formative – and negative – memories were just gone.  He’d consulted with his mages, a few of them that worked with time magic.

 

They were at an utter loss because apparently the blonde’s magic had so wrapped around the bottled spell that they couldn’t find a way to reverse it. In Fact, the more they watched her and studied the spell in her body, they realized it had almost been assimilated into her very self.

 

A young time mage with Auburn hair was the one that finally broke the news. He looked at Kaleb with very direct pale carmine eyes and shook his head, “Master, there’s…no reversing this. We’ve poked and prodded at this spell for weeks while she’s literally poked around one of the testing rooms. She put on a magic canceling bracelet and nothing happened….She’s stuck.”

 

Kaleb made a faint face. That was truly what he was worried about. That meant that there’d be quite a few Fairies visiting that he didn’t want to deal with. “alright, thank you, Marcus…for at least trying to see if it was possible.”

 

The guildmaster debated as he called Arman Pradesh and looked at his father. The man seemed happier the last month, though that could be because of the squealing girl that he could hear in the background. “Dad.”

 

_“Kaleb, any news?”_

“None of it good…well for Fairy Tail..” He slowly explained and he couldn’t help but smile as the Patriarch simply looked more and more delighted, while sad at the same time. He understood those feelings, as a young woman, Lucy had been attractive, if needing help because of every bit of mental and emotional issue rattling around in her overactive head; as a child, however, she just charmed the daylights out of anyone with a warm smile. He shook his head, “I know that Look, I’ve seen it quite a few times before…you’ve gotten adoption papers, and probably birth papers already drafted up.”

 

_“it’s been a month, Kaleb, and she’s a darling. Even Zen plays with her.”_

 

Zen had met the girl a week prior and just stared. His magic made him drawn to Celestial Mages and he hadn’t been able to figure out why it wasn’t a sexual haze until he saw the little doe eyed girl. She hadn’t been afraid of him, unlike a few other larger men she’d met. She’d run right to him and held up her arms, letting out a happy sound. They had felt the two magics reach for one another and the girl seemed fully at ease with him.

 

There was no desire past wanting to protect and to want comfort, but the bond that forged there was strong and actually helped the archangel when a Heavenly body mage had honed in on the Archangel like catnip. Zen had blinked and then snapped out of the light daze at the squeal of his name from the little girl. He smiled at the blue haired woman and then snorted as he crouched down to pick Lucy up. The woman had stared into the girl’s eyes and known, in that instant, no one with Celestial Magic would get close to the Archangel without first…winning over the girl.

 

“you know, Dad, Zen can adopt her,” He knew the look on his father’s face and really, it was futile, but something he had to say.

 

_“Zen does not need children right now, even adopted.”_

Kaleb shook his head, “What about Cris? They get along well enough…” He wasn’t really trying to set up anything, he just worried about his father taking on too much.

 

_“Cris is looking for his mate still, though…a child does tend to draw women in quicker..”_

Kaleb shook his head, “Nevermind, Forget I said anything. We’re not using her like that…” he trailed off though, Cris was amazingly good with the girl, he was good with people just because he was calm, but Lucy? She was always giggles and tickles and plenty of quite loud thoughts from man and woman alike about how they would look in a little ‘family’ with the Lunar Slayer. That was just going to cause trouble and he knew it.

 

_“he could just babysit then…”_

 

He groaned when he heard yelling downstairs, “…I’ve got to go, Dad…Her former Team finally showed up…” he paused, “as well as all of Fiore’s slayers. Wonderful. Don’t tell me she was kin with all of them..” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, this was going to be one of those days.

 

He heard Laxus bellow his name and took one last moment to sigh before putting on a calm mask. It was fine, they’d deal with it. His mind gently went out _“Zen, do you have Lucy with you?”_

_“mm? yes, we’re at the beach behind the guild.”_

_“would you bring her please? Laxus and friends have shown up.”_ The hum of acknowledgement was all he needed to know. He slowly walked down to the main guild hall and smiled, “Laxus..Dragon Slayers, Ezra, Gray.”

 

Natsu let out a low growl, “what did you do to Luce?”

 

Kaleb looked at Natsu, eyes flashing before the Fire Dragon Slayer was sitting, “we did nothing but escort her, like we were asked. To and from the job. It was made perfectly clear that she wished to accomplish it alone.”

 

The man was used to dragon slayers of both ends of the spectrum of temperament, so Natsu’s little outburst barely phased him, nor did the growls that laxus was giving out. He held up a hand, “we’ve exhausted everything..we will keep looking but our Time Mage that has looked into it, Marcus, says that it bonded with her very essence.”

 

Natsu huffed, “We’ll take her home then.”

 

A rumble came from behind them, as heavy footsteps slowly made their way across the floor, “She will choose.” They all turned to see Zen carrying a small blonde girl, “we’ve seen how children are raised in Fairy Tail, she may do better here.”

 

Gajeel let out a low growl, “She’s our kin.”

 

“And you are all wild, with little common sense or restraint, hardly a place for a child,” the archangel arched an eyebrow at the group.

 

Laxus let out a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked at the girl, “..Lucy?”

 

The girl peeked out of where she had her face nuzzled into the archangel’s neck and blinked her eyes at them. She just stared and smiled warmly, “yes?” a few of them looked scary, but she could feel that they were good.

 

Laxus pursed his lips as he walked over and looked at the girl before smiling, a soft smile that rarely graced the gruff Slayer’s face, “we’d like to take you home, with us to Fiore.”

 

The girl’s brow furrowed a bit and when he held out his hands, she shook her head, “I like it here.”  
  
Sting groaned and mumbled, “figures Blondie’d be stubborn..”

 

Rogue rolled his eyes and smacked the blond slayer on the back of the head, “stop.”

 

Laxus made a face as he stared down the little blond, he knew that the guilds in Fiore had issues with children being raised improperly but that didn’t mean he didn’t want his now tiny kin back. He stared into the girl’s eyes for a long moment, lips in a thin line, “you’re safe?”

 

The girl tilted her head and then nodded, “mm.”

 

“you can call us, if anything happens,” he arched an eyebrow, leaning in close. He snorted as she put a hand on his face. She didn’t push, much like she hadn’t before all this, and her eyes looked exasperated, “we’re going to miss you, but we’ll visit…and maybe you can visit.”

 

Lucy let out a low hum and nodded before her head turned and she let out a squeal that had the slayers cringing, “EMI! EMI!”

 

The female dragon slayer grinned as she heard the squeal “where’s my little star?” She grinned at Zen as she moved to take the girl and then stared at Laxus, purring before she looked over the assembled slayers, “well hello…” her eyes stopped at Gajeel and the dark haired slayer froze. She let out a low rumble in her chest as she nuzzled the girl “oh, my.”

 

“Zen!” Lucy let out a squeal before she started wriggling. Emzadi handed her over without a thought and then started stalking towards Gajeel.

 

“…oh shit..” Kaleb blinked “run.”

 

Lucy watched the two go and then nuzzled into Zen again.

 

The next day would be the end of Lucy Heartfilia and start the journey of Lucy Pradesh…with Eight over protective siblings, seven Dragon Kin, a loving Father and dozens of new friends, of many kinds, as she grew up.


	39. Infected

“you appear to be infected, Miss Hearfilia,” Came a voice from next to her hear and she rolled her eyes.

 

“Yes, fully,” she spoke blandly, not bothering to react short of flipping a page in her book, “it feels like my stomach is trying to rip out of my body.”

 

There was a snort and the woman grinned slightly before black leather clad arms curled around her shoulders, “…you’re no fun.” The man slowly nuzzled her hair.

 

Lucy brought her free hand up, patting one arm, “Sorry, middle of winter, warm blanket, cocoa and a book. Not too playful, especially given the time of month.”

 

“okay, ouch, sorry Aunt Flo’s visiting…” Vander let her go and then hopped over the back of the couch, eyeing the Fairy Tail Mage, “so…”

 

“why are you here, Van? Don’t you have someone’s pants to get into? I mean, Freed’s free this weekend, Cana’s always up for a romp…hell, play your cards right, you could probably squeeze in between Natsu and Gray.” She wriggled her eyebrows a bit and then shifted to pick up her cocoa, slowly sipping the warm chocolately brew.

 

“Oh, how little you…” vander trailed off, “…wait, you didn’t say anything about the strauss girls..”

 

One blonde eyebrow arched, “Lis and Bix hooked up last week, they’re testing the waters, not quite to Promised, but…this is Fiore, not Bosco.” She slowly looked over at the Shadowquip, blinking, “and Mira and Ezra hooked up...last month?” she tilted her head, “Though…you might be able to talk your way into their bed…”

 

“what about you, Stardust?” Vander arched an eyebrow as he leaned forward, hand moving to touch the mug and he took a sip.

 

“about to kick you for drinking my cocoa,” She shrugged slightly, nose curling at the suddenly very nosey man, “otherwise…happily single, on a bit of a dry spell, crampy and refusing any and all advances.”

 

Vander shook his head, “You know any of us would help you with that. When your visitor leaves.”

 

Brown eyes rolled as she sat there, “No thank you, Cris is looking for a mate, Kaleb’s…I’m pretty sure debating on going after Freed, Levy’s shown a lot of Interest in Farron, so all the girls’ve backed off…” she tilted her head, “you look like you’ve already got ideas for plans.” She arched an eyebrow, a sassy smirk on her features, “so…sweet promises, Van, but…I know the gossip in and around Fairy Tail and any Dragon Slayer.”

 

“There’s always Emi…she’d not mind…”

 

Lucy rolled her eyes as she let go of the mug, watching Vander greedily take it. She carefully started flipping through her book, “She saw Loke a few days ago…haven’t heard from him since, and according to Virgo, he’s…busy, for the next month.” She smirked as the shadowquip choked on his drink, “…that’s about the reaction I had.”

 

“you really need Laid, Stardust...”

 

“stop redirecting back to that,” She looked at him for a moment, “any and all prospects have been called ‘dibs’ or are dragon slayers. If I was their mate, I’d’ve already been marked and we know it.” She snorted “now…unless you’ve brought chocolate cookie dough ice cream…” She trailed off, making a shooing motion with one hand.

 

“no fun,” Vander scowled, “but fine, I’ll remember that for next time…” he grinned at her and set the mug aside, disappearing in a wisp before the throw pillow hit him.

 

She smiled softly and then murmured to herself, “idiot.” She carefully slid her hand out, touching one of the keys there, “Crux?”

 

The Spirit appeared and then shook his massive head, “nothing yet, Miss Lucy.”

 

“Thank you for the update, Grandpa Crux, I’ll check in with you in a few more days,” She smiled and watched him go in a golden shimmer. Taking jobs with Laxus and The Thunder God tribe had been beneficial, especially now. She could afford to not work while dealing with her latest issue. Her hand came up to her chest and she sighed at the pain, mumbling, “hopefully, we'll figure this out.” She looked at the small mark as she pulled aside her shirt, watching as it swirled like rose petals around her naval,  “fucking curse magic.” She snapped the book shut and leaned back, hissing in pain as vines formed across her skin, feeling the magic infecting her body even more.

 


	40. Ribbon

All he had to go on was a ribbon. It had been left in his room as he’d woken up with a pounding headache. The man’s fingers slowly rolled over the silky fabric, trying to recall anything of the night before, but It had been the New Year’s party and he’d truly enjoyed it.

 

The music, the lights, the dancing, the drinks. He recalled flashes of people that were visiting; Fairy Tail Mages, his mind supplied as he slowly sat in the living room of his childhood home, frowning as he sipped from a cup of coffee.  His lips were pursed in thought as he continued to try to figure out exactly what happened.

 

“keep frowning, you’re gonna screw yer face up, bro,” Bickslow said, leaning over the back of the couch with his own mug, “So…what’s up?”

 

He simply held up the ribbon, voice smooth, “I’m attempting to figure out where this came from. I woke up alone this morning.”

 

“damn..” Bickslow let out a soft whistle as he sipped his coffee, “Cold woman.”

 

He rolled his eyes as he sipped his coffee, “Or someone that feels they made a mistake.” He set the mug down, “which means they’re not Boscan.” He let out a hum as another piece seemed to click into place.

 

“where did your guildmates run off to?” He looked at his brother from the corner of his eye.

 

The Seith shrugged, “Dunno. Girls’re probably shopping, still pretty early.”

 

They both paused as they heard a long string of heated words, “oh, my fucking stars, you mother fucking jackass fucking chastity belt!”

 

“now princess-“

 

“Shut the fuck up, Loke, I wasn’t as fucking drunk as you thought I was and for fuck’s sake, I was going to enjoy a fucking nice night!” She stormed towards the kitchen, smiling at Mister Elan before she took the mug and rounded on her spirit, poking him in the chest rapidly, “You ginger fucking cock block!”

 

Loke groaned, “you don’t even have a cock!”

 

“well maybe if I did you’d let me get fucking laid!” The woman raged before turning with her coffee and looking at the two men  in the living room. She took a moment and then slowly sipped her coffee, “morning.”

 

“well someone’s bright eyed, bushy tailed and almost in scary lucy mode…” Bickslow slowly sipped his coffee.

 

“yeah, well, I would have been sleepy eyed, cuddling and sexually satisfied if Loke wasn’t an asshole,” She smiled far too sweetly, then sipped her coffee again.

 

Loke sighed, “Princess…” he paused as she let out a low warning growl.

 

Farron blinked slowly as he sipped his coffee, “that’s actually sexy.”

 

Bickslow rolled his eyes, “I think Cosplayer’s been around too many Dragon Slayers.”

 

“Oh fuck you, Bixy…and not in the way that would have you passed out happily,” The woman huffed and then blinked, “oh, hey! The hair tie I was looking for.” She grinned as she plucked it out of Farron’s hand and kissed his cheek, “I lost it at some point in the night…”

 

“Sometime around shot ten of tequila,” Loke grumbled as he watched his keyholder.

 

Lucy rolled her eyes, “…so I was a little drunk last night….i still would have woken up laid.” She kissed the blond man’s cheek again, “Thanks again…we’ll take this outside.” She then tucked the ribbon in the back pocket of her jeans and grabbed one of Loke’s ears, dragging him outside…where they could hear her scathing tone, but not the words.

 

“…damn, bro…you almost shared pleasure with her last night?” Bickslow let out a low whistle as he sipped his coffee.

 

Farron narrowed his eyes, “and apparently was interrupted, not left.” He grinned as he stood, “I think I may have to reinact last night…without alcohol though.”

 

Bickslow watched the blond man go and then moved to get a muffin, taking a bite, “good luck, Bro…her spirits really do get in the way.”


	41. fireball

The First Moment She knew something was wrong, was the heat, then there was the concussive force that seemed to sweep over her. Her mind rattled as she slowly picked herself up. The world swam and she felt unbalanced.

 

She heard another explosion, looking up as fire streaked across the sky, slamming into another building and she cringed, arms covering her head.  She hated this sort of thing and her mind started sorting facts.

 

She Vaguely heard yelling, some in terror as she willfully brought herself to her feet and leaned on a building. Right. Research, that’s why she was here, right? She brought a hand to her mouth, blew in it and sniffed. Still spring break, the fire ball whiskey had a distinct scent and she’d rather become addicted to the burn to hell dull her head. So close to getting her D.S.W. that’s why she was in..Atla right? She forced her mind to work, to keep it clear as she heard and felt explosions going on. The woman had put off field work until something truly came to her head…and helping out in Atla seemed like a good idea. Not so much anymore. A few things started clicking as she heard a voice in her ear, eyes changing for a second before facts ran through her mind, then she nodded and mumbled, “understood.”

 

More fire seemed to rain from the sky, though she just cringed with each step. She was sure there was a consulate around here where she could get safety…if they let her in. She barely heard the yelling, well no, it wasn’t yelling. Too organized, probably soldiers and orders, great.

 

“Lucky Lucy, My ass,” She mumbled as she carefully rounded a corner and came right into a very hard chest, “…fuck my life.” She wasn’t even sure she had the energy to look up, but she hadn’t been shoved back, an arm had wrapped around her. She knew she should panic, but she was fairly sure between the Fireball whiskey, the fireballs in the air…and the smoke, she was pretty lucky to be alive.  The building next to her and the mystery man exploded and she felt her eyes roll back, the shockwaves finally disrupting what little bit of a grip she had and she fell into darkness, wondering if her friends were freaking out back home and if the drop hadn’t gotten blown up…this was bound to be on the news.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

She woke to a muffled argument, barely listening as she lolled her head to the side. The voices were musical to her, deep, silky, and anything Holy above, she wished she could think straight.

 

“we’re in the middle of a war zone! What if she had been part of the attacking force!”

 

A lazy sounding voice spoke, “nah, she’s got her passport on her and everything.” There was a clicking of the tongue and a low whistle, “damn.”

 

“would you stop being so damn nosey, Van?” It was a third voice, calm, but obviously aggravated.

 

“nope, this woman’s out here doing humanitarian work..” he snorted, “for a degree in Social working.”

 

She let out a groan, speaking, “fuck you. Get out of my shit.”

 

There was some laughter and her eyes slowly opened. She let out a hiss at the lights and closed them before slowly opening them again, “where the hell am I?”

 

“An Airship, out of Alta,” her eyes slowly moved, raking over the room until she saw three of the most panty wetting, ripped men she’d ever encountered. With a big brother in the military, that was saying something. She took a moment, slowly sitting up.

 

“So, Miss…Heartfilia-Dreyer…”

 

“Just Dreyer. Less of a mouthful…less annoyance from my older brother,” She panted and then made a face, hand going up to her ear before she felt the bandages, “did it rupture?”

 

A soothing man, with dark hair and eyes that made her think of the nightsky sat down on the edge of the bed, “Yes, it did, keep it covered.”

 

“fuck my life, Laxus is gonna skin me alive…” She whined as she slumped.

 

The man with the lazy voice, and some of the most exotic red eyes she’d ever seen leaned forward, “wait. Laxus Dreyer…as in the one man that’s managed to make tesla guns work in the field? Dubbed The Thunder God?”

 

She gave a flat look, “with my fucking help. Took two years in our basement to make one.” The men chuckled a bit and shook their heads and she rolled her eyes, “okay, you guys know my big brother….Special Ops?”

 

“damn, you’re smart,” The lazy, red eyed man spoke. She thought one of them called him ‘Van’, who names their kid after a vehicle? Parents are odd some times.

 

She shrugged, “I grew up in a military family, Lax went SpecOp and Postal last year when I said I was going to do this sort of shit for my research and final thesis.” She went to stretch and then groaned as she slumped back, sighing as the hulk of a man with dark hair helped her lay back so she didn’t hit her head on the wall.

 

“Careful. You’re not going to be right for at least two weeks…” he trailed off, looking to the two other men in the room.

 

“I’d ask for your names,” she said, “but…I know that won’t happen right now.” She moved to shift and lay down, “Just…when you contact lax…don’t tell him I’m hung over…and got blown over by a fireball.”

 

All three laughed and shook their heads at the small woman and then waited before walking out into the hallway.

 

“we probably shouldn’t tell her that Laxus is onboard…”

 

“Van…”

 

“Oh, Come on, Cris…I wanna see the reunion,” he chuckled, even as the bag was yanked out of his hands, “c’mon, give it back.”

 

“damn spy, that’s a lady’s bag,” Cris scowled and opened the door, gently laying it inside and closing it.  
  
”Ladies” came a deep rumble from down the hallway, “you’re all pretty, but Kaleb’s got you beat.”

 

“fuck you, Zen,” The third male crossed his arms on his chest, brushing the braid of platinum blond hair over his shoulder and scowled as the other two laughed.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Lucia Anna Heartfilia-Dreyer!” The voice boomed through the hallways the next day. The burly blond man hadn’t bothered to close the door in his anger and he looked down at the small woman.

 

“Laxus Alexander Dreyer,” She spoke in a droll tone, looking up from what she was writing. “what’s up, Sparkplug?”

 

Vander was near giddy and had trailed after the stalking blond the moment he found out about their guest and was leaning on the doorway, watching.

 

“What the fuck did I tell you about going to Alta?! Or Deisterio at all?!” He loomed over the small woman, and Vander had to give her credit. She didn’t flinch at all. In Fact, she looked almost bored, which made him curious.

 

The woman  waved a hand, “Something, something, civil war, something something…blah blah rage…electrical explosion.” She looked at him and shrugged slightly, Vander barely able to hold in his sicker. She was feisty that was for sure.

 

“You weren’t supposed to be here!” His hands were on the railing for the medical bed and Laxus leaned down, growling, “you could have fucking died!”

 

Lucy let out a very faint sigh, “and I could have died if I’d have gone to the Ca-elum Congo. I’m doing missionary work, Lax..” she gave him a soft smile, “though…really…with the Congo it’d probably be some virus that ate me up from the outside and left me a very unpretty blob of flesh and blood.”

 

Vander had never seen the larger man break down, but he watched as Laxus grabbed the woman into a hug, buried his head in her hair and cried. His eyes were soft as the woman wrapped her arms around him and murmured softly, “it’s okay, Lax, shh, I’m alive. I’m fine..okay? shhh, let it out, big guy.”

 

Vander watched the two for a good ten minutes before the normally gruff man stood back, “no more, you’re going home as soon as we touch down on the bosco border.”

 

The woman slowly arched an eyebrow, “are you **ordering** me to do something, big brother?”

 

Laxus opened his mouth and shut it, jaw clenching, “…suggesting?”

 

“Suggestion Denied.” The woman picked up the notebook and then smacked him on the nose. “now, out…you brought clothes, I want to change.”

 

Vander arched an eyebrow before sliding into the room and the small closet that was right there. He waited until he heard Laxus close the door and slowly opened the closet, watching the woman.

 

She sighed as she stood, wobbling a little before she stood and then peeled out of the clothes she’d been retrieved in. He watched, taking in her body and smirking at the curves that he’d felt under those baggy clothes. What he didn’t expect was the tattoo on her hip. His eyes narrowed a bit, seeing the circle of stars surrounding a rose. He knew that symbol…and he had to wonder how in the world the woman was keeping it from her brother.

 

He slowly slunk out of where he was hiding, sliding up behind her. His hand came up as her leg whipped around and he caught it, staring down at her and arching an eyebrow. Vander purred as he kissed the bare leg, “…so just a college student, hmm?”

 

The honeyed eyes narrowed, but it was obvious she wasn’t going to be too loud, not unless she wanted that tattoo out in the open. Her voice hissed, “what do you know.”

 

“Rose and Stars, symbol of a supposedly so far covert spy network called Tartarus that it’s a damn myth.” He looked at her eyes, seeing the fire light in them and wagged a finger, “brother’s outside…if you’re not careful…”

 

She took a breath through her nose and slowly let it out, “fuck. Let me go.”

 

“no kicking,” Vander arched an eyebrow and didn’t let go until she nodded. He watched her for a moment and arched an eyebrow, “well?”

 

“I’m not telling you anything,” She slowly pulled on a pair of leggings that covered the tattoo.

 

“You’re hackers and are considered borderline terrorists,” Vander smirked as he backed her against the bed, making sure to keep his voice low, a hand skimming up her side, sliding over the tattoo on her hip, he found the raised lettering that denoted who she was in the organization and smirked inwardly.

  
  
lucy repressed the snarl she wanted to let out, but continued to dress, leaning back with amazing flexibility to put on a clean bra, “revolutionaries. Difference.”

 

“you were in Atla on purpose,” He didn’t ask, he watched her eyes, studying them and saw them narrow.

 

The woman let out a soft huff, “no shit, Sherlock? Then I got fireballs to the face…well…kind of…at least a small rupture in my eardrum..” She let out a squeak as the larger body covered hers and her eyes rolled back and her hand slapped over her mouth to muffle a low moan.

 

“LUCY! LET’S GO!”

 

They both snapped apart, the woman moving to hurriedly dress and she gave Vander a cross look, “I’m coming, Sparkplug! Stars! It takes a bit to get dressed!”

 

Vander watched as the woman literally sped through getting dressed, sliding on a pair of kneeboots last. She gave him a warning look before she walked to the door and slid out, smiling.

 

“C’mon, Big brother..” her voice was far too sweet from what vander could hear. This woman was dangerous, beautiful, dangerous…and he really should report her. Maybe he would..after a bit of a chase.


	42. overrated

As a spy, Vander Pradesh was sure that coders were overrated in how much work they did. Mind you, he never did meet many of the coders that did work with his division, other than a few males and there were three varieties: Overweight, Scrawny as Hell, or Hot and hyped up on Caffeine…though really, all three types seemed to like anything with Caffeine in it. He was under the impression that it was a field that was solely populated by males.

 

As it was, he was currently working to get through a Test with a new program that had been given. After looking it over, he had to wonder who ‘StarBunny’ was, but he’d blown it off. Coders had stupid as hell call names. He groaned as the monitor flashed red again and his head fell back, “FUCK!”

 

A soft, very female voice came from behind him, “you’re fucking the code too hard.”

 

His head whipped around and he was ready to snarl, only to be met with a blonde bombshell. Her hair was pulled up into a set of twintails and buns that definitely showed off her anime obsession…as if the pink Sailor Moon Tee wasn’t enough.  Legs that he bet would be amazing to have wrapped around him were in jeans that were tight until her legs and then belled out with star printed fabric, obviously home crafted and he could just barely hear the click of a heel that was hidden in those bell bottoms.

 

She slowly walked over to him, spun his chair so he was facing the monitor and leaned over and he saw a charm braclete with the zodiac symbols on it, “honestly, what is it with guys and wanting hard fucks, breaks shit.” She gave him a smirk as she pressed against his back and he couldn’t help but groan. “Down, sugar…let’s see how much you fucked the code.”

 

He watched delicate fingers fly over the keys with precision and accuracy that he’d only seen one Coder ever really have and that was his own brother. He blinked his eyes slowly as he watched, almost awed. “I didn’t fuck the code, the code was fucked to start.”

 

She pulled away from him a bit and she reached into his hair, fingers twirling before yanking on a waft of the red highlights in his hair, “fuck you, it’s inept jackasses that ruin code, not the coders. You just don’t have the finesse to use it.”

 

Vander let out a groan at the tug and smirked, “Oh, I could show you some fin-OW!” he growled as his hair was pulled again and he turned narrowed eyes on her. “The fuck, blondie?”

 

Her brown and gold eyes rolled as she kept typing with one hand, “work hours. Flirting afterwards…” She paused, “and maybe you’ll take out those green contacts, hmm?”

 

He balked, only his family knew about them and his eyes narrowed, “what do you mean.”

 

“don’t play stupid. I’ve read your dossier, the sealed one that Director has. Good read.” She paused as he heard his brother’s voice bellow ‘Heartfilia!’. Her cupid lips drew in and then she pulled his chair out “stay put. I was never here.”

 

He watched as she wriggled down into space under the desk, grabbed his legs and yanked him in, very effectively hiding, “what’s in it for me?” He barley caught the blonde brow quirking before he felt his pants being ripped open and a mouth wrapping around him. He choked and then leaned forward, calming himself as he looked at the monitor. Okay, office blow job, that was a good reason.

 

“Van!” his blond brother came storming up to him and he turned his head a bit, trying to look like he was working with the program.

 

“Sup, Kaleb?”

 

“have you seen a blonde woman?” he looked fit to be tied and it intrigued Vander.

 

“no…why?” he shifted just a bit in his chair, holding back a hiss as he felt nails dig into his thighs.

 

Kaleb drew a hand down his face, “She’s a transfer, from Magnolia….and there’s a reason I think Laxus sent her to us…she’s fucking trouble.”

 

“Oh, come on, that’s my job, right?” Vander grinned at his brother as he sat there, keeping his breathing as even as he could.

 

Kaleb sighed as he shifted to lean against the desk and look his brother in the eye with out the man having to crane his neck. To him, it was obvious the man was doing work with one of their new programs, getting familiar, “yes, and she’s just as bad.”

 

“How bad could she be?” He had to ask, really, because he could feel her tongue rolling over the bottom of his shaft and damn, he wanted to know how far down the ‘trouble’ ladder she went.

 

“She’s attractive and knows it,” His brother scowled and crossed his arms on his chest, “I mean..Laxus said she chewed men up and spit them out…” He shook his head, “he..was only half lying.”

 

“do tell?” vander turned his eyes to the monitor in front of him, frowning as he looked over the code that the woman had put in, “I mean, it can’t be that bad.”

 

Kaleb looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye, “she gave me a blow job in my office that blew my mind…while hacking my computer.”

 

Vander let out a low whistle, “damn, she’s got some control.”

 

Kaleb let out a sigh as he brushed his hair back, “just..watch out for her, let me know if you see her. She needs punishment for what she did.”  


“yeah, yeah, sure thing,” Vander waved a hand and let out a low groan when Kaleb was finally out of earshot, head falling back, wondering where the woman had learned half of what she did with her mouth, “fuuuuck.”

 

He heard a giggle and then the chair slid back. She slowly stood, licking her lips and patting his shoulder, “eat more fruit. You’ll taste better.”

 

“…does anything phase you,” Vander watched her as he licked his lips.

 

She slowly blinked her eyes, “nope.” She pulled a book out of her pocket and opened it, sliding a small pen from her cleavage and checking off something. She then leaned over, tapping him on the nose before purring, “treat code like you would a lover, it’ll love you.”

 

He turned to watch her go, shifting to stand and tuck himself back into his pants, “why do you say that?”

 

She winked over her shoulder, “Because…that’s my code…and I find I write my best code…after a good round of sex.”

 

He watched the woman walk out the door and away, looking between the door and monitor. It was a few moments before he looked back at the screen scrolling again before he saw something stick out at the very bottom of the code.

 

/***This area is for comments.

/***You’re a cunt, Starbunny

/*** boo, you’re just jealous that you passed out after blowjob, bixy and woke up to me riding your roomie.

 

Vander slowly sat back, blinking, “holy shit…Bix has some explaining to do…” he grinned, “and maybe some sharing if they’re close.” He rubbed his hands together; he’d just gotten a very new appreciation for coders…at least ones that could swallow a man hole without any lead up.


	43. Forever

**Forever**. It was a hefty word and one that she rarely used. Nothing was forever, not governments, not officials, not friendships, lovers. None of it. Mard had always said that their hacker group, Tartarus would last forever and it made her wary because lately, it was not 'forever' in the sense of a legacy, it seemed like Mard wanted to  **live** forever.

 

She settled into the internet café she’d found in Capresia and curled up in a seat with her laptop and a coffee, watching the people around her idly. Just like the other Her wouldn’t last forever. It was failing..and it had been for years now.

 

The bubbly, blonde that only wanted to help others, with a bright smile had been damaged, enough that she had to keep control of their mind and body more and more. She inwardly cursed Jackal and how he’d fucked with her.   She could readily appreciate the man’s work, he was a former Neuroscience engineer that had gotten into explosives for some reason. She didn’t ask, none of them asked about their personal reasons for doing the work they were doing.

 

Even she was haunted when the half insane man had shown off his newest ‘invention’, watching a man’s head explode had nearly shut down the Other Her. She let out a sigh and sipped her coffee. She wasn’t sure if Laxus knew about her, but he most likely sure as hell suspected, he’d spent plenty of time talking with Freed Justine, a military psychiatrist in off hours and any chance he could and often asked her if she was ‘still with him’.

 

It had been two years since Atla, since that day when she’d been avoiding Bosco as much as she could and watching for black hair, red streaks and wicked eyes that reminded her almost of cherries. She absently purred, wanting cherries now and shook her head to clear it. She had to focus.

 

The other her was soft and gentle, so much that when she’d been gang raped and unable to help herself at fourteen, She herself had come into being. She protected the other lucy from the harsh world and let her do what she wanted without getting her hands dirty: help people. Her degree in social work allowed her to join a large humanitarian group, helping people around the world and while the other her did that, she took the time to do work for Tartarus.

 

She was getting suspicious though, things were shifting to more violent gears, their symbol had gone from something with hushed whispers, to being tracked down after Jackal and his explosive humans had blown up a skyport in Enca. One slip up and it would be all over…and part of her didn’t want to see that deep hurt in Laxus’ eyes. With a breath, she grabbed the files that she wanted off a cloud server and then stood, strolling out with her coffee. Buying the access had sucked, but…it made it a bit safer for herself.

 

The address there was close. So close and she was very wary about what it was. The communiqué had made her blood run cold. Jackal had been caught, Lamy had been caught. She needed a safe place and hopefully she could get rid of the tattoo, get out of this. The blonde inwardly snorted as she let herself into her hotel room, knowing that wouldn’t happen.

 

It was only reflexes that were honed by having a brother in the military that had her drop and roll to the side from the sudden attack. She let out a snarl and tried to buck off the body that was suddenly on top of her, wriggling and fighting with all she could.

 

“hey there,” came a voice she’d dreaded hearing and her body seized, enough that she was now face down with both arms behind her.

 

“FUCK!”

 

Vander smirked as he held her down, body pressed down against hers and his lips by her ears, “only if you ask nicely.”

 

“just get it over with,” She snarled, “arrest me.”

 

Vander debated for a long moment as he kept her pinned, “take me to Mard, I’ll help you work out a deal.”

 

She wriggled a bit more, letting out a grunt as she was forced further into the coarse carpet. After a moment, she slumped as much as she could, “Fuck…fuck, fuck!” She mumbled, “Laxus doesn’t find out?”

 

Vander pursed his lips, “if we can help it.”

 

“…fine.” She knew she was fucked, and no where close to in a good way. “but you follow my fucking lead. He’s gone batshit.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The address had been a warehouse and she’d been wary, but with her new ‘partner’, she had little choice but to open the device on the outside and inwardly groan as it accepted her handprint. It was the right one, locked down tight and that was what bugged the hell out of her.

 

Inside it was illuminated by monitors, electronic devices…no actual lights and it cast the entire place into blues and greens. Her hand came up to her mouth and she mumbled, “holy shit…”

 

“…you can say that again,” Vander mumbled. He’d gone through shit for two years to keep tabs on the woman and now it had paid off, they’d wanted her brought in, but he’d followed his hunch that she was higher up than most of the members.

 

He watched as she stopped next to what looked like a vat of glowing goo…with a man inside. The body was emaciated and he was fairly sure that they wouldn’t live too much longer. He heard her suck in a breath and shake her head.

 

“what the hell is this place?” Vander frowned, “it’s like something out of a movie…”

 

“this…isn’t…shouldn’t be possible,” She frowned, eyeing the strange device on the long haired man’s head, “just the neural stress alone..”  
  
She gave a faint sigh as she moved and then started when a holographic man appeared, “SHIT!”

 

“Lucy,” It was a smooth voice, but crackled a bit, coming from a few different speakers. The man, Vander could admit was strangely exotic, long purple hair, wearing what he swore were some sort of Priestly robes. “It has been awhile.”

 

Vander watched as the woman smiled tensely, staying as much in the shadows as he could. He’d agreed to stay as out of sight as possible, letting her handle a man that had very obviously, to her, become unhinged.

 

She smiled faintly and shrugged, “it…travel can take awhile…and it needs to be believable.”

 

“Do you see my future, Lucy?” The man tilted his head, “we could live, forever.” The man’s voice had an insane edge to it, “shape the world…”

 

Lucy’s lips drew into a thin line, “You never wanted forever at the start, Mard, you wanted to make a lasting impact…this..”

 

“Don’t worry…” he motioned to a large chair, “have a seat, so we can talk. You must be tired.”

 

The woman took a deep breath, “I’d rather-“

 

“Sit. Lucy.”

 

Lucy swallowed and nodded before she sat, “alright. Mard, I didn’t sign up for this outfit to fucking blow people up.”

 

The ‘man’ hummed softly and nodded, “Indeed, but don’t worry…Seilah will be here shortly to help you with your concerns.”

 

 _Seilah._ Lucy knew that name and feared it. While she had two personalities, the woman had more than a dozen…and none of them nice. She was, however a damn genius, when they needed someone to talk to, they could go to her…and her laptop had been custom made by the woman.  “what…do you mean, Mard? I…don’t understand.”

 

The ‘man’ crouched in front of her, smiling a smile that had vander’s eyes narrowing, “You’ll become like me, Lucy, free of the mortal confines.”

 

Lucy felt her eyes go wide, pupils contracting with the fear that was there, “…uh…right…is there…I’m a bit thirsty.”

 

“Ah, yes, yes,” he nodded his head, “go ahead, right over there.”

 

The woman slowly stood, eyeing the ‘man’ before she walked to a machine. She took it in, taking a breath, “So…I’m going to…assume you…have a…uh…backup, on a cloud?”

 

“No, not yet, I traverse from here, we’ve a few more sessions until Seilah will have fully cut the connection to my body.” He stepped up behind her, “you’ll be the last one, Lucy…Ezel, Keyes, Tempster, Kyoka, they’ve all gone through this. Jackal and Lamy were captured, but that’s fine, we don’t need them…”

 

Vander narrowed his eyes as he heard the man purr, “but we need you, Lucy.”

 

She eyed a wire, knowing what it was and swallowed, “Mard…you guys really don’t need me…and we discussed that I wanted out.”

 

“shh, no more of that, Lucy, you’ll see, it’s for the best,” Mard grinned and if Vander had never seen a purely predatory look of lust before, he knew what it looked like now.

 

The man had watched her eye a few different wires, taking note of them and he prayed she kept the man talking while he slowly slunk through the shadows. He’d debated, but if another member was coming, he couldn’t risk it and he’d hit the button he’d been given to call for back up.

 

Lucy turned, just barely catching the man’s movements and smiled at Mard, “Mard, you really don’t need-“

 

“Sit. Lucy. With your drink.” It was a command and she realized that whatever Seilah had done to the man…making him into…whatever he was now? It had caused the shift over a year ago.

 

She slowly moved to sit and then smiled as she sipped from the bottle of water there, “I’m just saying…I’m a hacker…that’s all.”

 

“you’re one of the best we’ve ever seen…” He purred as he crouched in front of her, “Think about it, Lucy…you’d be free, able to do your work in seconds instead of minutes..”

 

It was a tempting offer and she could almost feel the  pull to do it, but she knew better. She wasn’t stupid, this was moral suicide. The man’s head snapped around, eyes narrowing just as clamps came down over her chest, slamming her back into the chair and she struggled, “MARD! Let me go!”

 

She screamed and kicked as a device came down over her head, “stop this!”

 

Vander started pulling wires, struggling as he did so, he wasn’t sure which ones wouldn’t…kill…..delete…who the fuck knows what to the crazy man. Sparks went everywhere and he heard the howl of rage, saw the body starting to thrash in the tube and he just hoped that his backup had been half assed fucking following him like they were supposed to.

 

The door slammed open just as Mard gave a howl of rage and things blinked off. Vander groaned at the flash of sunlight and then moved to the woman that had gone silent. “shit. Shit…”

 

Kaleb frowned, “Van…why is Laxus’ little sister here?”

 

Vander turned and looked at his brother before licking his lips and slowly lowering the jeans the woman was wearing on one side, “…inside informant.”

 

“laxus is going to try to kill you for making her do this,” Kaleb rubbed the bridge of his nose, “you know that, right?”

 

Vander stepped back as the medical team rolled in, taking care of the body and the woman. He stood there with his brother, “keep a secret?”

 

A blond brow rose, “good or bad?”

 

“Promise,” Vander stressed as he stood there, keeping his voice low.

 

Kaleb knew his brother, those weren’t words often said and then he gave a small nod, knowing nothing would be given, “fine. I promise.”

 

“She’s Stella,” He watched the comatose woman being drug out.

 

Kaleb looked at Vander for a moment, “…what?”

 

“She’s Stella, she’s been wanting out, offered up Mard on a plate, if we can get her own swept under the rug,” Vander was lying, he’d offered her that, but his brother didn’t need to know.

 

Kaleb frowned a bit, “…we’ll talk with Farron, he’ll know how to do this.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was nearly a month before they’d heard anything from Farron, and since the faces of the members of Tartarus were not ever revealed, only the tattoo marking them, no one had suspected the flakey blonde and it was easy to keep under wraps.

 

They’d heard Laxus and the man didn’t sound happy, “what the hell, Lucy! You can’t be serious!”

 

Both moved to an observation room, watching the interaction. Vander crossed his arms on his chest, tilting his head curiously. Kaleb looked on impassively, just glad that something was going to happen.

 

The woman was sitting, wearing a pair of jeans and a tee, fiddling with her nails, “I am…I mean…I move around a lot…and I’m pretty good with a computer…so…I figured it’d be fine to…help out more…In memory of Mom, who was a great Cracker..” she looked up at him, “you always say these guys are good, right? I just…don’t feel like the work I’m normally doing is helping the world enough…” she splayed her hands out.

 

“What happened to her,” He stared down the blonde woman firmly.

 

“I don’t know wha-“

 

“where is my bubbly sister.”

 

The two stared for a moment before the blonde woman sighed, “…how long have you known?”

 

“since you were sixteen.”

 

“ouch,” Lucy sighed, “thought we were better at hiding it.” She shook her head, “but…She’s…hiding. After realizing Mard was going to…digitize us…she shut down.” She gave a faint smile, “she may heal, but…” she shrugged, “who knows. Just…I’m not her. I can’t stand crying grown men and women who won’t fucking go out and help themselves.”

 

Laxus sighed as he crouched next to her and put a hand on her cheek, “dammit, Lucy.”

 

She smiled as she leaned into the hand, “just…let me do me?”

 

“just this once.”

 

Lucy hugged Laxus tightly, “Thank you.” She snorted, “so…any advice on Vander?”

 

“don’t fucking sleep with him.”

 

“No promises, we’ve already wrestled a few times…” She grinned at the annoyance on the larger man’s face, “I kinda wanna strip him.”

 

“I’d really like my innocent sister back,” Laxus deadpanned.

 

Vander choked and then grinned, “now…that’s just asking for trouble.”

 

Kaleb rolled his eyes and pat his brother on the shoulder, “be good, Van…for awhile at least, just so he doesn’t try to kill you.”

 


	44. Needles

“oh, come on! It’s not even that bad!” A man with red streaked black hair looked at his older brother.

 

The brother in question, looked at his younger, crossing his arms on his chest and arching a dark eyebrow over deep amethyst eyes, “I’ve heard about Tattoos, frankly, I don’t want that many needles close to my skin, Van.”

 

“Zen, Trust me, They’ve got a great staff, you won’t even realize they’re doing it,” He walked in, dragging the other man behind him.

 

The music was what first hit his ears and made his eyes cross at just how loud it was. The second thing he noticed was the staff seemed to be completely made of women and he sighed, “Van…”

 

Vander snorted and waved a hand, grinning as he walked to one of the counters and waved down a woman, “Hey, Cana, doll, brother wants to get some ink…”

 

A brunette walked over and tilted her head, looking between them, “Looks nervous, first time?” she leaned against the counter, playing with Vander’s hair, “oooh, new conditioner? Gods, you need to get me some.”

 

“Focus,” Vander chuckled “ink. Brother.”

 

The brunette nodded, “Lucy, she handles new inkers well.” The woman smiled, almost indulgently, “She should be just about done soon.”

 

A door opened and both brothers paused as they saw their oldest, baby blue eyed brother walking out, talking to a small blonde woman, “Okay, so..they’re gonna be sensitive, you’re gonna want to put pads over them until they heal all the way.”

 

Farron nodded, giving the woman a soft smile “any thing else?”

 

“No playing with them for at least a week, trust me, something’ll tear and stars, it’ll be horrible,” She chuckled a bit as she patted his stomach with the back of her hand, “you’ll be fine though, I mean…some of the other piercings were worse.”

 

The tall man gave a small, indulgent smile, “yes, but they’ve worked well.” He looked up, “Zen, Vander,  fancy meeting you here.”

 

Vander opened and shut his mouth a few times, looking between his brother and the little blonde bombshell that had at least a dozen piercings and tattoos that spiraled over her skin that looked like constellations and the animal that represented them. “…Farron…”

 

The woman grinned “oh, a little party.” She moved behind the counter, pulling out a few bottles, “okay, directions are on the bottle. It was included in the price of the piercings.” She wagged a finger at Farron, “I mean it, a week.”

 

Farron chuckled and nodded, “Alright, perhaps by then I can ply you with food on a dinner date.”

 

“aww, sweetie..” She pat his chest lightly, “you’re sweet, every girls’ romantic dream.” She smirked as she plucked up a pack of smokes, “Cana, get Farron taken care of, ya? I’m going out for a smoke.”

 

“Lucy…” The brunette sighed, “we’ve got a new Inker.”

 

The blonde let out a whine and then looked at Vander, “not you, I put that smiley face and star on your ass cheeks.” The man’s other two brothers watched for a moment, blinking slowly. It wasn’t…no, no, they expected something like this from Vander.

 

Vander leaned towards her, “well, I wouldn’t mind some more ink…was thinking a scripted ‘drink me’ and ‘eat me’.” He waggled his eyebrows.  
  
The woman stood there for a moment and snorted in laughter, “okay, okay, that’s good, because I can guess where they go.”

 

She then turned a smile on Zen, holding out a hand, “Hey, I’m Lucy…I’ll be your Ink Artist today. You’ve got two choices: you pick something, or you let me design something.”

 

Zen slowly blinked, “I have no idea what to get.”

 

“Oh! Perfect, come on!” The woman jumped over the counter and grinned, grabbing him by the arm and tugging him back, “Cana! I need the Jim Bean! Stat!”

 

Farron scowled at Vander, shaking his head, “well…he should be fine…right?”

 

Vander shrugged, “Dude. She’s the one that did that strange shadow creature down my spine, she’s fucking good, I just…barely described what I wanted.”

 

Cana chuckled, “She’s an art student, you give her something…any little thing…and boom.” The woman turned and pointed to her back, the open backed shirt showing off the intricate design that at the bottom looked like stacked cards, but eventually they looked to be falling from a hand.

 

Vander whistled, “That’s her work? You’ve never said.”  
  
Cana grinned, “Your brother’s going to get something that’s just him.”

 

The two men chatted with Cana, deciding to both wait for their brother. It was over two hours before he came out, putting his shirt on.

 

“And you’re sure about this,” amethyst eyes looked down into honey brown.

 

Lucy grinned broadly and nodded, “seriously, I asked you to tell me about yourself as I worked, you’re an angel, Zen, a little bit of a wicked one, but you’re an angel, those wings’ll serve you well.”

 

“Will they help me serve you dinner?”

 

Both Wine red and baby blue eyes narrowed on their brother. The two mirrored a stanced with arms crossed.

 

“mmm, maybe, who knows,” Lucy chuckled “anyway boys, have fun…” She tilted her head, “and Farron, Say hi to your dad for me and that I said Thanks for helping us set up shop here. Customs and paperwork and bleh.”

 

“..you know Dad?” Baby blue eyes blinked curiously.

 

Lucy put a hand on her hip as she picked up a bottle of Jim bean from behind the counter, uncorked it and took a swig, “yup.” She popped the ‘p’, grinning broadly.

 

“how?”

 

The woman wagged a finger, “A good girl don’t kiss and tell.” She laughed before bouncing back into the back room.


	45. Invincible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part of a Vampire/White Wolf Inspired AU
> 
> Invincible, Shadow, Dawn, Dusk, Sneeze, Red

As a born and bled Vampire, Vander Pradesh had been exposed to quite a bit over the centuries of his lifespan; including listening to the Prince of the City attempt to snark at his Father for adopting so many ‘strays’. He, his brothers and Sisters were hardly of the same clan, but they loved each other like they were family, blood family.

 

Having a Mixed Coiterie had made for something that Prince Jellal had watched carefully, with his second in command, Ezra watching them warily. He understood it, knowing that with their diverse skills, if their Father wanted, he could easily wrest control from the blue haired vampire. Fortunately for them, Arman Pradesh had no want to do so.

 

He worked to keep the boys educated and well out of the public eye when he could, especially with the way they all looked. It was hard at times, because they all sometimes wanted to go out and let loose. Humans and their clubs had made it wonderful to relax and pick up an easy meal.

 

Right now, he was watching as a group walked down the street. He didn’t mind many of the supernatural creatures that roamed the city of Pelerno, there was a standing peace treaty that everyone stayed out of everyone’s way…except the Faerie Children. They had some other name, Changelings? He forgot, they were fairly new to the Area and seemed that their ‘Court’ had sneered at the Prince. To not incite anything that would cause deaths, they’d been on a watch but don’t interact order.

 

To most people around them, the group just looked like eccentric college students, with dyed hair of varying shades. The only one that looked normal was a bubbly blonde that the lion-man looked like he wanted to drag off. He had eyes and the woman was amazingly easy on the eyes and he’d seen centuries of women. She seemed to just be bubbly, happy and light. Normally not his type, but Zen, Farron or Kaleb? Oh, they’d eat her right up, in quite a few ways.

 

“So you’re saying you don’t believe in Faeries,” The ginger looked down at the blonde with an arched eyebrow.

 

“nope!” The woman popped that ‘p’ in the word and Vander felt a small thrill. She was **sassy** too.

 

“okay…hmm, what about Vampires?”

 

She rocked a little from side to side as they walked, “we talking like..horror movie, b-film or romance novel variety?”

 

The group chuckled at the woman and the Ginger Shrugged, “something between horror movie and romance novel.”

 

She brought a hand up, finger tapping on her nose, “nah, that’d be silly…I mean…” she shrugged, “this day and age? Even if they had existed, that means organizations like the infamous Van Helsing would have existed…and they’d totally have been wiped out.”

 

“wow, brutal…” The Ginger chuckled, “Werewolves?”

 

They all watched as a shadow fell over her features and even Vander was curious at her whispered and pained ‘yes’. Now what garnered that reaction?

 

_“vander, what are you doing?”_

_“following a group of those Faerie touched, I think they might be getting ready to drag a person into…whatever it is they call it.”_

_“hit your tracker, we’ll be there to make sure nothing happens.”_

He just mentally hummed as he pressed the cufflink he wore and continued to listen.

 

“oh, come on! Werewolves? That’s it?” The Ginger Scoffed.

 

The blonde woman smiled a bit, “shifters exist…they…killed everyone at my sixth grade camp but me…no one believed me, they thought I’d been traumatized by the fact that I’d managed to hide from a mass murderer for a week.”

 

Vander made a face, they’d all heard about that and there had been a joint meeting to deal with it. The man in question hadn’t been alone, but they’d all been moondrunk and taken over by their wild sides…it was only the smell of blood that had drawn vampires into it. They’d left all but one dead…and his raving mind had confessed to killing all the people to the police that had come, earning him a death sentence. This girl was the survivor from ten years ago? He was amazed she was so bubbly.

 

The group around her moved to give her hugs and she melted into them before shoving the ginger haired male away, snorting, “Down boy, my ass is a no touch zone.” There was laughter as they walked.

 

“Okay so…let’s see..what about Magic?”

 

The honeyed eyes rolled as she walked, “life is magic, look around you, simple things you take for granted can be counted as magic.” She wagged a finger in his face as they stopped at a cart vendor, grabbing some hotdogs before they continued down the road, all eating.

 

“okay, how about half gods?”

 

The woman choked and then hit her chest a few times as she side eyed the man, “dude? Seriously? What? You think like Hercules type people exist?” he could hear…fear? Pretty well hidden in her tone, so he doubted people would pick up on it.

 

“it’s plausible,” the ginger watched the woman.

 

“unlikely.”

 

“Oh, come on, Lucy, you have to have some sort of opinion, you’ve had plenty on the supernatural things from books.”

 

She gave a shrug and then smiled, “not really.”

 

She half turned as she heard a yelled ‘luce!’ and sighed. “sorry guys, that’s my cousin, see you later.” She turned and jogged off, letting out a yell, “Gods dammit, Natsu! Leave the fire juggler alone!”

 

Vander continued to follow her, watching as the group all looked at each other. Yeah, they’d been planning to rip the girl from her life into making her one of their own. He knew that look. Cristoff had done that with a scholar years ago and Freed was still by his side.

 

He couldn’t ear the whispered talk the two were having as the woman wrapped herself around the small male for a piggy back ride. The grin on the pink haired male’s face though? Something was off about that one. He paused as he really took in the man and frowned, he had a naval piercing…but his stomach didn’t dip down where the naval should have been. What the hell.

 

Vander stepped out of the shadows, deciding to follow them like a human for a bit, that was until he felt the ground rumble and watched the two tense.

 

“well, shit…” The woman sighed as she dropped down, “thought they’d at least not bug a street festival.”

 

“c’mon, Luce,” the pinkette waved his hand, “you know better.”

 

A large creature rose from the ground, causing the people around to start to go into a panic and the two watched for a moment. Fire curled around the male before his hair stood right up and he grinned, “I’m all fired up! Father Loki! Let the grounds be forever sealed from damage!”

 

The woman sighed a bit as she stood there, clapping her hands before Thunder ripped through the air, Lightning striking and Vander started as a large man covered in lightning appeared, “Laxus, how’s your dad?”

 

The big blond man looked down and arched an eyebrow at the small woman, “booted my ass out of Asgard as soon as he felt the disturbance.”

 

The woman snorted a bit, “if you’d come and socialize, you wouldn’t get his lightning covered boot up your ass so much, Sparky.”

 

“you just like the colleges too much, sunshine,” They all watched the creature as it roared and stood there, looking…fairly nonplused.

 

“Van, what the hell is that,” Vander felt his brothers moving up behind him and he turned to look at Kaleb, arching an eyebrow.

 

“hell if I know, came right out of the ground…”

 

Farron curled his nose, “I really didn’t want to get into a fight tonight…”

 

Zen grinned broadly, flashing his fangs, “I could use one. Especially if they’re tearing up our city.”

 

They felt the power suddenly pour off the woman and she let out a yell, her appearance changing in front of them “All-Father! Thy Daughter wishes a boon! Grant me thy power!” Her clothing seemed to swirl as black feathers appeared around her, leaving her in a skin tight body suit and a heavy chest piece. In her hands she held a spear and her hair, once covering one eye was revealed to have an eye patch over it.

 

“…man, you always show off, Luce,” the pinkette grinned before both men were moving forward.

 

“pfft,” She waved a hand before whistling and a Pegasus appeared next to her. She climbed up with out preamble and it took off.

 

Farron stood there for a moment, “…this is new…I’m sure the Prince will want to know…”

 

They all started and drew back as fire flew through the air, for a moment they thought the building they were next to was going to explode but…nothing.

 

“hit it hard, boys! We  need to take it down before the sanctuary falls!” The woman let out a rather blood thirsty cackle before she was leaping off the horse and falling, the spear being brought around and slamming into the thing’s head, “Sparky! Let’s have fun, I made you a lightning rod!”

 

She flipped off, twisting in the air just as a massive column of lightning came down and fire sprang up from beneath the creature, the two forces moving in tandem and the area rocked from the force. The woman however landed like an Olympic gymnast and she held out her hand, a golden orb forming in it.

 

“Seal of the Aesir!” power swirled around her before it shot out, curling around the massive creature and then springing out over the torn up city block. When it cleared, it looked…like nothing happened and the people there looked around inconfusion.

 

The three stood for a moment and then the blonde woman turned, “okay, thanks guys, happy to assist.” Her one golden eye glowed and landed on the assembled vampires and she tilted her head, studying them before her lips curled into a small smile and she brought a finger to her lips before she started sauntering towards them.

 

They slowly parted and then each man gave a yip as they felt a hand on their asses.

 

The large blond man rolled his eyes, “stop playing with the bloodsuckers!”

 

They watched as the woman put up both hands and flipped him off, “Later! I’ve got a goth poetry reading to get to!”

 

Vander blinked slowly, “…what the hell.”

 

They all eyed the two men as they came over and they both sniffed the air. The pinkhaired one titled his head, “huh..that was a lucky guess, laxus.”

 

“It was, she probably thought I was screwing around,” He crossed his arms over his barrel of a chest, their combat clothes sliding away. Laxus’ eyes had a bit of a backlight to them, one having a massive scar. He looked like he was debating, “laxus, son of Thor.” He smirked. “the idiot is natsu, son of loki…” he nodded a bit, “and her? Daughter of Odin.”

 

“what are you people?” Kaleb frowned a bit, they’d seen shit get blown up and now there was just…no sign of it past a large group of confused people.

 

The blond man’s lips curled into a rather feral grin, “Demi-gods.”


	46. Dying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goes with "needles"

Arman let out a soft groan as he watched red slowly curl over his skin, flowing and curling over each muscle. His head went back and he clenched his teeth, Gods, it hurt.

 

There was a soft chortle and his jade eyes snapped open, narrowing at the woman that was currently straddled over him, “what is so funny?”

 

“you’re the one that wanted this thing done start to finish,” She arched a blonde eyebrow and smirked, “I told you that it would be better to do it in parts..”  
  
”I need to work on pain tolerance,” The man rumbled and let out another hiss as the woman wriggled across his lap. He took in the tattoos, the various piercings and took a shuddering breath, “is there any reason you feel the urge to do this in nothing but panties?”

 

The blonde woman giggled, tilting her head to the side before she dipped forward and then slowly ran a hand along the slightly enflamed skin from the work she was doing, “nope, call it fan service or some shit.”

 

“and there is no need to be licking that…” He hissed as she bit one of the rings on his nipples and tugged, “Wicked woman.”

 

She let out another laugh as she pulled up, leaning over to check the ink in the machine, “you like it. Gives you a reason to redden my ass.”

 

Arman smirked a bit as he sat there, a small nod conceding, “Indeed. Anything interesting lately?”

 

She let out a soft hum as she went back to working and he had to admire the swell of her breasts and the small jeweled barbells that hunt on them, “let’s see…Farron  got a Lorum and a Reverse Prince Albert, was debating on getting getting a ladder, I told him I only recommend two at the time, ladder would have to be later, I mean, he’s already got enough recover time going on.”

 

Arman hummed a bit, “Zen’s shoulder’s look good.”

 

The woman gave a soft hum as she shifted down his legs, laying down almost completely as she worked by his hip, “I think they fit him…oh, Vander came in two days later, got a tramp stamp and well…” She grinned up at him, “one that shows he prefers partners that swallow.”

 

Arman laughed and shook his head, letting it settle back down, “you’re a naughty girl, Lucy.”

 

“but you love it,” She hummed as she traced her fingers along his skin, pulling it a bit taut as she worked, “So…” She looked up and smirked, “Hooters for dinner tonight?”

 

“I was thinking something a bit more upscale, get you in one of those dresses,” Arman smirked.

 

“family dinner?” She tilted her head, arching an eyebrow before she blew on the ink she’d just laid into his skin.

 

“…do you want to tease them?”

 

Lucy smirked wickedly, “any time I can.”

 

“wicked woman, marry me.”

 

She let out a musical laugh  before sitting back and letting her fingers curl over the newest tattoo, “okay..there, all their names, in Hindi. Looks damn awesome, if you ask me.” She slid off his lap and then moved to get redressed, “and don’t ask questions like that, unless you’re serious.”

 

The man watched her and smirked, “I wouldn’t mind having my name on your lower back.”

 

The blonde looked over her shoulder and slowly blinked, Honey darkening to a deep chocolate color, “…most romantic thing ever...maybe, where would my name go on you?”

 

He brought a hand up to the intricate script over his chest, “here, under hers.”

 

Her features softened and she walked over after pulling on her backless crop top and gently kissed the script there, “okay, now that’s pretty damn romantic.” She smiled, “will you let me put the filigree around her name that I’ve wanted to for a year now?”

 

“yes,” He smiled softly at her, “of course.”

 

“deal.”


	47. Prism

Lacarma were, in essence, just prisms that caught Etherno. Most mages worth their magic knew that. They could be manipulated to do a lot of things and they were. Kaleb was no stranger to being able to manipulate lacrama and their functions. He’d done more than enough in his short life time, found new ways to use the clear crystals.

 

He never had, however, seen them used quite like they were currently being used: wrapped in magic and used as tennis balls. Fairy Tail was a wild guild and he knew that there were a few that had unique ideas, this being one of them.

 

He absently watched as Freed and Lucy were ‘facing off’ on the court, both sweaty, bodies heaving and he leaned against the pillar as they continued, bodies moving near fluidly and very suddenly as their eyes stayed on the ‘ball’. The racquets they were using were also unique, he could feel magic from them and the strings on each were different. Freed’s had black and purple that let out a pulse with each hit to the ball; Lucy’s a golden glow that flared brightly as she let out each ‘ha!” with each lob back to the Rune mage.

 

“interesting…” He murmured to himself, arching an eyebrow as he felt Laxus walking up behind him, “Watching?”

 

The dragon slayer nodded and crossed his arms on his chest, “it’s for magic control, in case you were wondering.” He smirked, “and exercise. They do this for about an hour a day…give or take on how hot it is.”

 

“Magic control?” He arched an eyebrow, “Yup, they have another mage charge the ‘ball’ up and use their own in the racquets…trying to regulate it so that they don’t shatter the protective magic around it…and if they get too competitive? It’ll break.”

 

“OH FUCK NO!” Lucy yelled as she darted forward and her racquet came up and over her head. She let out a frustrated yell before ‘spiking’ the ball downward, cackling as it landed in bounds…bounced and then shattered. She blinked owlishly, “…oops.”  
  
Freed smirked and shook his head, “And there’s what shows that you spend far too much time around people that use a lot of force.”

 

They both moved to the side of the court, grabbing towels and wiping their faces, Lucy scowling, “…I get a bit competitive after a point…and we’ve been lobbing that back and forth for ten minutes…” She looked at the rune mage sheepishly, “my bad. Who should we get to charge the next one? I was thinking maybe wendy…might get the ball a bit…lighter?”

 

Freed nodded and smiled, “That might be an idea, we’d have to have much finer control then.”

 

The woman set the racquet down, watching as the strings flickered out and sighed as she grabbed her water bottle and poured it over her head, “stars, it’s only spring and this hot…save me.”

 

Kaleb arched an eyebrow at Laxus, “…they seem…to enjoy one another’s company.”

 

Laxus chuckled, “Freed doesn’t swing that way and they’re close because they both are former nobility.” He shrugged, “So…it’s a friendship.”

 

The Mindbender frowned as he saw his brother Farron walking out, “Freed! Lucy! Ah, wonderful!”

 

The two turned and grinned, waving to the baby blue eyed man. Lucy took a sip out of her water bottle, hip cocked out and a hand on it, “Hey, Farron. How’s our favorite ambassador today?”

 

The Sound mage grinned “I was thinking we could look into marketing those.” He nodded towards the racquets, “they’d be a boon for schools, guilds and just mages in general…”

 

Lucy snorted and hip checked Freed, “you go talk. Over dinner.” She grinned, “I’m going to hit the showers…and I want half the haul.” She eyed Freed, “Half. We developed this together.”

 

Freed let out a huff as he stumbled into Farron and then smiled softly, “okay.”  
  
kaleb watched the two go and arched an eyebrow at just the surface thoughts, grinning, “Them, hmm?”

 

His eyes trailed to the blonde that was standing there, sipping out of the water bottle again. Her smile was a bit strained but he watched as she turned and picked up a small lacrama and fed magic into it, she tossed it in the air and it glowed, spiraling around her body as she started jogging around the court, “She does this often?”

 

Laxus shook his head, “no, something’s bugging Blondie, that’s how she lets steam out.” He nodded his head towards the blonde woman, “Exhaust herself until her mind shuts down, she says..”

 

_‘Fucking Ezra.’_

 He arched an eyebrow as he listened to her inner monologue. She was doing nothing to hide it, so he snorted at the offer of a beer and turned, keeping his magic trained on the woman.

 

 _‘don’t worry, we’ll protect your honor’_ the Celestial Mage’s mental voice was mocking, _‘you’ll be pure for your wedding, the white dress will suit you.’_ Her anger almost made him flinch, _‘please, she fucking gets laid every few weeks when Jellal breezes into town. Fuck. Why am I the one that has to stay a virgin? I’m fucking twenty two! This is fucking stupid. Natsu fucking breaks in, sleeps in my bed, scares off guys…I’m going to die a virgin because they’re both fucking overprotective. If it wouldn’t make them fucking blow up, I’d go to that border town…someone there **has** to know how to help a virgin out…’_

He settled at a table on the second floor of the  Fairy Tail guildhall and leaned back in his chair as their drinks were brought. He took a breath, “Going to guess it’s her…team?”

 

Laxus rolled his eyes, “yes, if it’s not one thing with them it’s another.” He nodded towards Mira, “she got blondie tickets to a new boscan massage parlor…reservation, no reschedules…got drug on a ‘short job’ which should’ve gotten her back in time…”

 

Kaleb frowned, “I’ve heard about the paperwork for them…how long did they keep her?”

 

“Finished with the mission, and repairs…just at the time of her appointment,” Laxus snorted, “She’s been spending as much time around my team as she can since, snarling like a dragon slayer the last week at them.”

 

Kaleb debated for a moment, slowly sipping his beer, “Give her to us.”

 

Laxus scowled, “what. No, you’re not…” The Lightning dragon pursed his lips, “…it’s her choice. You’d have to talk to her.”

 

Kaleb expected more resistance, but he understood. The woman needed to make a choice…now how to discuss that.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was three days later that Kaleb and Vander were walking down the road to the guild that they heard a moan that made both of them turn their heads. That wasn’t something they were accustomed to hearing in Magnolia.

 

They rounded a corner and saw a petite blond taking a bite of some sort of dish and moaning, “…stars..this is probably going to be the closest I come to an orgasm around my team.”

 

Loke looked across the table at his summoner and his fork was paused half way to his mouth and he was watching her with wide eyes. He slowly put it down and cleared his throat, “now Princess…I’m sure…you will..”

 

Lucy glared at her spirit until he shrunk back and then took another bite of the creamy scalloped potatoes, letting out a small mewl, “Shut up. I’ve got maybe ten minutes to eat before they track me down.”

 

Vander shook his head and then he slunk to the table and leaned against the railing of the outside bistro, “you could come to White Sea stay with me, get fully away from them…”

 

Kaleb rolled his eyes and chuckled as he walked over, “What my brother means…is we’d like to extend an invitation to come to White Sea, get away from whatever is bothering you.”

 

Lucy looked at them for a moment, taking another bite of her food with a soft mewl and her eyes closing, “I dunno…kinda hard to beat the food here…”

 

Kaleb smirked, he could **hear** her already weighing the invitation, “Boscan food’s better…and the bathhouses are fairly nice.”

 

Vander grinned, leaning in and closing his mouth around the woman’s forkful of food, he blinked and let out a groan, “ok…this is good, but it’s got nothing on Mister Elan.”

 

Lucy arched an eyebrow slightly, free hand drumming before she snagged her fork back and shoveled in another mouthful. When she swallowed she spoke, “My team will try to come.”

 

“we’ll make sure they don’t,” Vander purred and chuckled as the woman swatted him away from her fork. “c’mon, you know you want to.” He smirked lazily at her.

 

Loke hummed as he ate, “It would be nice, I enjoyed bosco the few times I was there before Karen…” he grinned, “Relaxing, to be honest. Never been so sated.”

 

Lucy rolled her eyes, “I swear, is sex all you think of.”

 

“No, maybe,” Loke chuckled, “the break from Magnolia would do you good. You could deal with-“

 

Lucy cut the Lion a very sharp look, “Continue that, I dare you.” Her eyes narrowed, suddenly shadowed beneath her bangs and Loke held his hands up before he disappeared in a shower of golden dust. She rolled her eyes, drumming her fingers again, “fine. Not like I’ve a lot to lose….other than possibly being called **fat** , being broke all the time and just losing more and more clothing.”

 

The woman finished her food and put the jewel for it on the table, “you’ve got five minutes to get me the hell out of here before there’s a riot.”

 

Vander grinned at Kaleb, “I’ll take her ahead, think you can deal with her stuff here.”  
  
Lucy waved a hand, “Virgo will clean it out, just dealing with the lease is the big thing.”

 

Kaleb smirked, seeing how utterly aggravated her landlord was with her. It wouldn’t be hard for her to get out of the lease, he’d make sure of it. He held out a hand, “keys?”  
  
Lucy arched an eyebrow before she pulled a key with what looked like a little raccoon on it and put it in his hand, “get Mira’s copy from the guild.”

 

“LUCE!”

 

Lucy curled her nose, “right…so…they’ve turned a corner, they’ll get visual soon.”

 

Kaleb smirked, “get her out of here.” He was actually a bit gleeful inside. Helping people was something he enjoyed doing, but there was more than that, the Dean of the Acadame Celestine had been wanting to meet the woman, this would be a good opportunity for her. He tucked the key away and turned, striding away from the bistro, he had a few things to do…and a Celestial Mage to fully Woo to White Sea. Permanently. Along with her wonderful ideas of how to use lacrama in new and inventive ways.


	48. Prayer

His eyes were so red that she simply didn’t know how to describe them on any given day…or in different lighting. She was a writer and she knew plenty of ways to describe the color red.

 

Carmine. Crimson. Rose. Cherry. Wine. Currant. Candy. Blood. Sangria. Berry. Apple. Ruby. Rosewood. Wine. Rust.

 

Each one had a place with describing his eyes and she simply  huffed as she sat with her notebook in hand. She was tapping her pen on the book, lips in a thin line as she debated. Alright, so some of them may have been too light compared to his eyes, but they were all **reds** and that was what mattered.

 

He would call her eyes Honey. He wasn’t as inclined as she was, but he had a bit of help. Goldenrod and Chocolate worked too, depending on her mood. He watched her as she sat in the bay window, curled up with her notebook and just staring out at Pelerno with a small smile as he leaned on the door frame.

 

Her hair was easy, liquid golden sunlight during the day, and at night, under the moon? Such a pale ethereal gold that he couldn’t help but call her a goddess. His eyes danced as he watched her nose curl a bit as she thought, eyes still on the outside world.

 

The man slowly walked towards her, making sure to make no sound before he leaned in, voice reverent, her name falling from his lips like a prayer, “Lucy.”

 

It was that moment that Vander Pradesh remembered one thing: Never sneak up on Lucy Heartfilia. One moment he was ready to kiss her, the next he felt the leg connect with his head. Then the screams and the apologies. He grinned up at her and put a hand to her face as she cried, “I’m fine, really, Stardust…but damn…you sometimes make surprise worship services brutal as hell.” He watched as the worry in her features bled to humor and mirth, “ah, there’s my goddess of the stars.”

 

She leaned forward and gently kissed him, “and you’re my king of the shadows.”


	49. Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part of a Vampire/White Wolf Inspired AU
> 
> Invincible, Shadow, Dawn, Dusk, Sneeze

“…I think that shadow just moved…”

 

“oh, for fuck’s sake, Natsu, it’s a haunted house.” She snorted a bit as she walked, “you’re being a big baby…” Her lips quirked into a smirk, “Should I call brother Loki?”

 

“You’re such an ass, Luce.”

 

The woman’s laughter rang out, right before she let out a choked sound and the shadows wrapped around her.

 

“LUCE!”

 

The woman struggled as much as she could with the shadow around her neck, unable to talk before she was swept away.

 

“…Laxus is gonna kill me…”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

There was a thud and Arman Pradesh blinked as a woman was thrown from the shadows, “Vander?”

 

The woman slowly growled as she shifted up to her hands and knees, “you spindly little mother fucking cock biting blood sucker!”

 

“I take offense…I don’t fuck mothers,” Vander smirked as he came out of the shadows in the corner before leaning on the desk and looking to his father, “This is one of the Demi-gods we told you about, specifically, the one from that camp ten years ago.”

 

Her eyes narrowed as she slowly got to her feet, brushing herself off. She eyed the two warily and crossed her arms on her chest. Her brow quirked as she felt something try to get at her mind and waved a hand back, uncovering the eyepatch over one eye that glimmered a bit. “what do you want.”

 

Arman could see the defensive nature, but strangely, her heart beat was even, calm and that made him furrow his brow a bit, “you’re not afraid.”

 

“and you vamps like to poke in heads,” She put a hand on her hip, “explain, my cousin will be going nuts soon…and with him…” she shrugged  and held her free hand out, palm up, “shit blows up or catches on fire.” Her lips quirked as both of them flinched at the word ‘fire’.

 

“I’m reaching out…in a truce towards your kind,” Arman smiled faintly, watching the woman carefully.

 

Lucy tilted her head and smiled, a far too innocent smile, “Look…we go where our parents send us…we leave…nothing but…” she waved her hand again, “Midsummer Night’s dreams behind…we protect those in the crossfire…”

 

Vander smirked, watching her and his eyes glowed a bit. She was a sassy thing, but they’d known that before. He slowly felt through his shadows, letting them curl out and then blinked as the woman stomped on one.

 

“down boy, that thing goes towards my leg again, I’m going to assume you’re trying to get up my skirt.” She snorted and then sighed, “Look…we don’t want to get involved in the…Politics of supernaturals..okay? we’ve got…Titans and…other things to kill…” she smiled faintly, “but…if it will keep someone here from yanking me away in a Haunted house. Fine.”

 

“we could possibly give assistance in your…quest?”

 

The woman didn’t look convinced as she stood there, shifting to cross her arms under her chest and gave a nod, “Fine. Just…no more shadow travel. That gave me the Heebies…and I’ve been to Helheim to visit Hel.”

 

“Agreed,” Arman stood and carefully held out a hand, “I assume this will suffice?”

 

The woman watched him and then smirked, she reached down and then pulled out a dagger before slitting her palm, “Sure…” She held it out towards Arman, eyes dancing.

 

Arman had to wonder if she had no fear, then again, watching her, hearing her heart not change, he figured she didn’t, not after being hunted as a child by shifters, that would make…many things much less horrific, he supposed. He put his hand around the blade of the poffered dagger and then drew it back, letting it slice his hand open. It took a second for him to will the blood to flow, but soon he was taking the handshake.

 

The man went stiff as he felt a power come through the connection and then watched as she stepped back, putting the dagger back in her boot and licking her hand, “Okay…so…can I get a ride back? Natsu’s gonna freak.”

 

Vander laughed, “only by shadows.”

 

“Wait…No you little-!” She didn’t get more out and Arman had to chuckle as his youngest childe dove, grabbing the woman and taking her through the shadows. He truly was the most playful out of all of them.

 

 


	50. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part of a Vampire/White Wolf Inspired AU
> 
> Invincible, Shadow, Dawn, Dusk, Sneeze, Red

There was…so much Red. He was used to red, he was a vampire and it was the color of life to him. He was trying to process what was going on. One moment, he was bouncing through shadows with a Demi-god just to fuck with her. The next, they were supposed to be in a haunted house.

 

What met them was a large creature that was shadows and metal that nearly took off his head. The woman had twisted when they came out, shoving him and had taken the blow, her chest half missing and he stared.

 

“LUCY!” came a booming voice and Vander could hear the crackling of lightning.

 

“fuck,” Came a groaned, feminine hiss and he looked into the woman’s eyes.

 

“why the hell did you do that?!” He growled, fully unused to anyone outside of his family and a select few others trying to keep him from harm.  
  
She quirked a lip before she tried to stand and he simply didn’t know where to put his hands, “allies, right?”

 

Vander could see the light starting to fade and felt the strain on her heart. He could barely acknowledge the large figure that came up next to him.

 

“shit…” Laxus ran a hand down his face before putting a hand over the woman’s open eye, “just..relax, Lucy, it’ll be fine.”

 

He wasn’t dumb, he knew that the woman was going to die and he looked at the Demi-god who shook his head.  Vander licked his lips for a moment and then suddenly grinned, fangs flashing before he sunk his teeth into her neck. He’d deal with his family later, right now his focus was on the limp, barely alive body in his arms…and the red lifeblood that was flowing into his mouth.


	51. Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part of a Vampire/White Wolf Inspired AU
> 
> Invincible, Shadow, Dawn, Dusk, Sneeze, Red

He watched her as he stood by the bed, sighing, “Dammit, Vander…you’re going to cause so much fucking trouble…” He’d done his best with his abilities, healing up the demi-god’s chest, but he knew she wouldn’t live.

 

He was half listening to the heated discussion in the other room. Vander was getting the riot act for this. It was a reckless turning and they all knew it.

 

The woman groaned as she slowly opened her eyes, “..the fuck…”

 

Cristoff smirked, “you’ll need to rest…” He paused, “…and enjoy your last dawn that won’t kill you.”

 

The golden eyes went wide, “what?!”

 

He let out a small chuckle before he sat on the bed, putting a hand on hers “you were dying…and Vander…doesn’t take lightly to people saving his life.” He gave a faint smile, “I’ve healed you, but…well…” he shrugged, “The only way you’re going to stay alive…is by being turned.”

 

The girl looked at him for a moment and her brow furrowed before she closed her eyes. She didn’t say anything before mumbling, “Fuck…Dad’s gonna kill me…well…uh..”

 

Cristoff chuckled, “I think he’ll…be happy you are living on…” he stood and then slowly opened the curtains, “Enjoy the dawn…you’ll only be able to watch it in movies from now on.”

 

With that, he slipped from the room to go rest for the day, hearing the argument die down. Things would be…interesting with another woman around.


	52. Dusk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part of a Vampire/White Wolf Inspired AU
> 
> Invincible, Shadow, Dawn, Dusk, Sneeze, Red

She’d sat in the room all day, just watching the sky and sighing. While her father hadn’t come to say anything. He’d sent his crows and she’d hugged them after reading the letter. He was content that she didn’t die, because she’d be instrumental in Ragnarok, but that was it…nothing else.

 

Nothing personal and when she’d let the birds go, she watched them disappear into the distance. Dusk brought dread to her chest and she brought a hand to it, she didn’t want this…she…if she would have died, she’d have gone to Valhalla. Who did that man think he was?!

 

She sniffled a bit as she wiped at her face, refusing to let the tears fall too far and then scowled when the door opened just as the sun fully dipped beneath the horizon. “What do you want?”

 

“hey,” Vander grumbled, “Don’t give me lip…I owed you my life…so a life for a life.”

 

She rounded on him, sneering “and what sort of life is it?!”

 

He’d been there, watched her stay calm around his father, an Elder Vampire, but here she was torn up and he didn’t think it was about becoming a vampire. He stepped into her space, not flinching as she brought a fist to his chest, letting out an angry sound with each hit. He waited until she stopped before murmuring, “Done?”

 

The woman sniffled a bit and sighed, “…yeah…”

 

He nodded and then his head dipped as he tilted her chin back, grinning at the moan from her and the way her body arched into him as he bit into her neck. He listened to her heart and when it almost stopped, he pulled back. He watched the golden eyes dull and then bit his own wrist, bringing it to her lips, “Drink.”

 

She let out a small whimper and he had to pry her jaw open, letting the thick ichor fall into her mouth and then he held her mouth shut. When he felt her heart faltering, he pinched her nose, smirking at her half hearted glare as she swallowed before her body arched in pain and she screamed.

 

This was, Vander found, the worst part about turning someone, the conversion of their bodies. He held her tight against him as she cried out, body changing, flushing out everything ‘mortal’ and when she finally slumped, he picked her up and took her to the bathroom to clean her up again.

 

It was a new night, with a new vampire…that had a light in them that he could feel the power of and for a shadow user…he would have to see how it went.


	53. Sneeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part of a Vampire/White Wolf Inspired AU
> 
> Invincible, Shadow, Dawn, Dusk, Sneeze, Red

As far as any of them knew, vampires didn’t sneeze. They all sat, drinking from goblets and watching the small blonde as she tried to adjust, a sour look on her face at drinking blood from a glass.

 

Then she’d sneezed. The explosion of gold laced shadows around her body made them all blink for a moment and pause. This was new territory, for all of them.

 

Vander broke the tension as he snickered as the woman gave another sneeze and the same thing happened again. “…oh, this is funny.”

 

She gave him as cross a look as she could and her lips drew back into a snarl.

  
  
”Oh, come on, Kitten…I’ve never seen a vampire sneeze,” Vander smirked at her as he sipped his drink and choked back laughter at the next sneeze.

 

The entire family found it funny. The small blonde shouldn’t have been able to sneeze. It just wasn’t possible for a vampire to do it without pretending.

 

When he guffawed at another sneeze, her eyes narrowed and the next sneeze had the golden lined shadows upturning his chair. That had the entire family in laughter and her looking just a little smug…before she sneezed again and groaned.


	54. Button

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Finding Stellariam" Insight Piece, story to be released

“Should we push it?”

 

“Don’t push it.”

 

“I’m going to push it!”

 

There was a burdened sigh that echoed through the hallways and then the sound of several smacks, “we’re on a space prison ship…and we don’t know what is in there.”

 

The sound of footsteps slowly filled the hallways, “Don’t touch anything! Both of you sit and stay there!”

 

“Why does Luce get to go ahead?” A man with pink hair slowly looked at a man with dark hair.

 

The other rolled his eyes, “Because she’s our superior on this mission, technically.”

 

She slowly  moved down the hallway, holding out a lighting orb and frowning at the things she found. There were so many dead bodies and she took a breath. The life support was still working, the engines good…and they’d gotten an S.O.S. signal…there should be something wrong.

 

“if you’re looking for anyone, sweet, they’re all dead,” A purred voice came from the woman’s side and she let out a startled sound, hand flipping out a dagger that had a blade made from plasma.

 

She slowly blinked as she looked at the man, taking in the golden flecked amethyst eyes for a moment as well as the large mechanical wings that were stretched out behind him, “..the hell…”

 

He smirked as he leaned against the containment field, “well, my brothers and I are left, but that’s it.”

 

She arched an eyebrow as she stood there, “what went on here, this was supposed to be a prison ship.”

 

The man let out a bitter laugh, “please, it’s from Peregrande. It was an experiment ship.”

 

Her lips drew into a thin line, “Those are illegal…but…Peregrande is getting shit from the galactic council…” She sighed a bit “stay there.” She turned and started down the hall again.

 

“aren’t you going to let me out!?” The man called after her and her eye twitched.

 

She half turned, “I have to check it out before we can let you out.”

 

The man’s eyes narrowed, “There’s possibly an attack droid still active.”

 

She waved a hand and smirked, “yes yes, stay put, big guy.”

 

His voice purred, “you’re a Celestial.” The eyes danced with mirth as the woman tripped and then turned, eyeing him, “I can sense it.”

 

She took a deep breath and her eyes narrowed, “I am not.”

 

“you are, they said they modified me to be a bloodhound only towards celestials.”

 

Lucy took a deep breath, “yeah, so?”

 

“I heard your friends, I bet they don’t know..” he grinned broadly, “how about you let me out…let me help you search…or I’ll yell it.”

 

She took a breath as she looked at him and slowly walked to the cell, “You fucking attack me, I will rip off your balls.”

 

He nodded and watched her slowly put her hand on the release plate, a glow against her palm before it opened. When the barrier came down, he let out a low purr and then stepped towards her, “define ‘attack’.”

 

“physical to-“ She couldn’t finish her statement as she was yanked against him, his lips smashing into hers. She wanted to fight, but it was like every fiber of her being was being forced to be compliant and a small mewl came out of her.

 

She panted when he pulled away, “..what the hell…is this..?”

 

“I’m Zen, a pleasure to meet you,” he looked at her uniform, “Miss Heartfilia.”


	55. unknown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Finding Stellariam" Insight Piece, story to be released

There was much he didn’t know about the woman that had rescued him and his brothers off the experimental ship and seeing as everyone was settled, he’d wandered, frowning when he heard voices from the bridge.  He slowly eased himself through the door, letting it near silently close behind him.

 

The blonde woman, The celestial, was half in a large panel, a bag of Peregrandian Lacrama drives to her side. “I’m telling you, Erza, if you open the folder titled Pr-376820 you’ll see what they did to these guys, or had planned.”

 

There was a hum on a small display not far from her head, _“let’s see.”_ After a few moments, the woman snarled, _“what the hell…a galaxy eater? They spliced him with one of…we’ll get Rogue to Train with him. He’s a natural half breed, he should be able to help the man not suck the life out of everything around him…”_

“he’s pretty good about it, but he got…emotional and I felt the pull,” The blonde sighed softly as she ran a hand through her hair before replacing a Lacrama drive that had gone dark. “spliced one of the brothers with a Draconis, another they boosted the Seith DNA in him, he’s having control issues as well.”

 

_“Lucy, when was the last time you went into statis?”_

The woman paused and her lips drew in a thin line, “…eight months. Unlike Yuki, you paired me with Natsu…and he likes touching buttons, makes it impossible for me to feel at ease enough.”

 

_“you know you need to at least once a month…”_

“again, **Commodore,** you sent me out with a Draconis that can’t keep his hands to himself and Berg boy that constantly has to get in his face, I can’t relax enough to Statis…” The blonde huffed as she sat back and then stood, stretching, “I’ll be fine. I’ll drop these guys off…go to the Galactic Consulate on Bosco and stasis for a day.”

 

_“you need more than a day for eight months of no stasis!”_

“I’ll take what I can get…” Lucy sighed a bit and tapped her wrist, looking at the display that floated in the air.

 

Zen watched as she flicked a few things around on the display. He didn’t know what Celestials were, only that he had been created to hunt them down, make them helpless for the Peregrandian High Council and drag them back. He’d vowed to never do it and they’d apparently been getting ready to condition him to listen to orders of that like. There was a lot he didn’t understand.

 

He’d tried talking to his brothers and only Kaleb, who was born a Technophile, had any small answer. He absently recalled it as he watched the woman move. Celestials were an ancient race, their home planet unknown, but they were supposedly the reason that intergalactic travel was possible. It is rumored that they were only a few dozen left in the universe and that they had power to spare, but there was no reason ever listed why.

 

 _“lucy…”_  the woman on the com spoke softly, _“you’re going to ruin your celestial drive if you don’t get regular stasis sessions…”_

“…I know…and I know there’s only like…eight of us left that can access the star drives to use the Celestial Guardians, Erza. I know my core can’t fail…that’s why I want to go to the Acadame Moon. They should have someone there that can look at it.” Lucy gave a small smile, “if I get clearing…I can probably statis for up to a week while they look at the drive.”

 

_“I’ll work on that then, but they may not be receptive.”_

 

The woman smiled and Zen could see the exhaustion in her eyes. “my biggest issue right now is the Archeaus spliced guy.” She rubbed the back of her neck.

 

 _“what’s an Archeaus, Lucy?”_  
  
”Yuki can probably explain it better…” Lucy sighed as she sat heavily into a large chair and her head fell back, “But…they were supposedly a race that died out a few millennia ago, a brother race to the Celestials, but…there was greed on both sides. Celestials drawn like sirens to the Archeaus, somehow binding their souls, making them subservient…but…Archeaus were…literally like Sirens to our souls.”

 

_“what aren’t you telling me, Lucy…”_

 

The woman sighed, “around the time Dad and Mom were making my drive to give it life…a group stormed their home, Dad was killed…Mom…taken. My aunt managed to finish the transfer, link me to the star drives.” She paused as she sat there, “The two Archeaus were working for the peregrandians. They took mom, made a huge show of it…I’ve still got the feed somewhere…” Her voice softened, “They raped her in public, broke her body…and when she wouldn’t sire a child after three straight months..they crushed her drive that connected her soul to her body. I **felt** it, Erza, felt her soul being let go into cosmic dust.” She smiled faintly at the horror on the other woman’s face, “So…I think I’m pretty well able to say I’m scared to death right now…”

 

_“he’s Boscan…he shouldn’t hurt you…”_

“hopefully he won’t, but…I was too young, I know the Galactic Council sent assassins to kill the two, supposedly wiping the last of them out to protect the last of the Celestials left.”

 

_“how many drive swaps have you a had since then, Lucy? Yukino said she’s on her tenth…”_

Lucy sat for a moment and then spoke softly, “…if I get this swap? It’ll be number fifty…nine. Each time the older memories degrade, so…” she shrugged, “pretty sure other than my journals, I won’t remember any of that next time, nor why I have such a deep hatred for Peregrande as a planet.”

 

The woman sighed, _“be careful, Lucy, please…we…you’re one of my best friends…I don’t wish to lose you.”_

Lucy smiled warmly, but softly, “I don’t plan on going anywhere, Erza, really. Go rest, you need it.” She swiped a hand, closing the connection and letting her head loll to the side. “Loke?”

 

There was a buzz and a voice as a solid hologram popped up, “yes, Princess?”

 

“set us on a course for Bosco, use the stellar drives, shouldn’t take more than a day that way, correct?” she looked up at the ginger haired, lion-‘man’ and smiled, “I’m going to…rest. Lock the bridge door so Natsu doesn’t push another shiny button.”

 

The lion-man nodded before bowing, the hologram just blinking out before the banks of computers just lit up, like there was a full crew working on the bridge. Lucy sighed as she slowly stood and then turned. She looked at Zen and he could see the distrust in her eyes.

 

The man knew the woman needed rest, but he wasn’t sure what this ‘stasis’ was. He slowly walked towards her, noting she was taking two steps back for every one of his. When her back hit the viewing glass, he put a hand on either side of her body and leaned down. He very slowly nuzzled her hair, smirking as he felt her slump, “You need sleep.”

 

Lucy let out a small mewl, “go away…can’t..stasis…” she shivered as he caged her body in a bit more and tried to cast a defiant glower up at the tall man. She wasn’t **blind** , he was fucking Gorgeous and part of her wanted to grab his hair and rip into him in a less than proprietary way.

 

“Sleep,” Zen spoke, tone commanding and then sighed when the woman slumped. He wrapped his arms around her and gently hefted her up. He frowned at the weight she had. She was tiny compared to him, even with her curves, it was odd. He shook his hair, slowly moving back to the cabin he’d been given. When she didn’t respond, he saw a small flickering on her chest and debated.

 

The man wasn’t sure about her, but he hated to wear clothes to sleep in. he’d take the shit later and started to undress the woman, frowning when he found seams on her arms and legs in different places. These were replacements, robotic arms and the like. He carefully outlined each one, leaving her in the boyshorts and tank top she had on beneath the uniform. Her left leg up to the knee, the thigh on her right leg, her entire left arm, right arm from shoulder to elbow; all very major replacements. That’s why she weighed so much. She was at least half made of cyber-robotic pieces…and if the quality was anything to go by, they were Joyan.

 

As someone from Planet Bosco, he had no love for the people of Joya. They were a matriarchal version of Peregrande, but they did good work on this sort of replacement. In fact, he was sure the wings that were folded against his back were Joyan. There were too many unknowns in his life right now, all he knew was this little woman intrigued him…and he would find out everything he could about her, while fighting that nagging feeling of wanting to bind her to him…even though he had no clue how to do that.

 


	56. Darkness

She huffed as she drummed her fingers on her arm and tapped her foot lightly on the plush rug under her feet. She was in a small space that was dark. This had been a "dare" - really it was a payment for information - and the only one that was aware of the bunny suit she was wearing was Mister Elan.

 

How anyone had talked her into doing this for this birthday party…no she knew exactly why. Vander was a manipulative little shit. That’s how she ended up inside a birthday cake to pop out at the end of ‘Happy birthday’. She’d been having no luck finding Aquarius’ key and had decided a two week break in Bosco with Bickslow sounded a lot better than anything.

 

_“so…what would you do for information about that key you’re looking for? Like…the location. Exactly, stardust?”_

_She’d not been ashamed, in the least when she’d grabbed the shadowquip by his hair and yanked him down, “anything!”_

_“Then we need you to pop out of a birthday cake.”_

_She’d scrunched her nose a bit as she looked at him, “…fine. Now…where is the key.”_

_The man’s lips had split wide in a panty dropping, mirthfilled and sexy grin, as he dangled the key in front of her. She’d been torn between hitting him and kissing him. Instead, she’d gone with a smile and then a dangerous hiss before grabbing the key and making a mad dash to the_ _Grass_ _Sea_ _out the back door._

…Which lead her to her current situation. It had been three hours since the cake had been wheeled out. She was getting hungry and cranky, especially surrounded by the smell of some of the most delicious chocolate cake she’d ever smelled. She wasn’t even sure who’s birthday it was.

 

When her stomach finally cramped with hunger, she was done. She half stood from her stool, put her hands on the small plates that she could feel…and pushed. The cake opened around her and she took a breath, “Happy birthday!”

 

She didn’t seem bothered at all, she was **hungry** and when everyone was looking at her, she twisted and took off the top layer of cake that had kept her hidden. With a hmpf, she turned on her heel, walking towards the bar.  She’d ask why they’d used White Sea as a venue later. Right now, she had a nice bit of chocolate cake and she needed a drink.

 

Arman sat there for a moment, slowly sipping from his glass. He looked at Vander and arched an eyebrow, “…I’m going to assume this is what you meant by one of the best birthday presents out of everyone?”  
  
Vander grinned as he leaned back, sipping his own drink, “Damn right.”

 

Arman Pradesh was **not** blind. The woman had curves, and attitude, from what his boys had told him, she had a tongue that could strip a noble up and down without them knowing they were laid out like viscera under the sun. He let out a soft hum, because it appeared she liked chocolate as well, which was good, Boscans loved their chocolate. He smirked a bit, “I think I have to go talk to my present.”

 

With that, he finished his drink off, listening to his boys laugh and then started after the blonde woman, who was hissing and stabbing her fork into a hand that came too close to her cake before sipping from a drink. It might be a good night, if nothing else, Vander wouldn’t give him a bad present of this sort…


	57. Ablaze

As a Boscan, he understood the release in sex. Pleasure was pleasure. Fairly Shared, fairly given. He had, however, rarely had his entire being blazing with liquid fire of this sort for a long time.

 

She was bubbly, happy, and intelligent past her years and currently sitting in the library in his shirt, legs curled up under her as she read through a large tome as she sat on the bench near a window, just seemingly soaking in the sun as she read.

 

It was a rather hefty book as well, outlining the laws of Bosco. Dry reading to most, bedtime reading for himself, and for her, apparently, it was afternoon reading with tea and Mister Elan’s Cinnamon Chocolate cookies.

 

She let out a hum as she brought a cookie up, biting down into it with a low hum of delight before chewing and flipping a page.  For someone as young as she was, and all the energy she had, she seemed to enjoy just sitting in a library for hours. She’d also whined and pouted a bit when he was going on a trip to Minstrel, so he’d taken her along.

 

He supposed, having been in a mage guild for her more formative teenage years, she’d gone through a lot of adventure, a lot of danger, so the more simple things, a relaxed evening at home instead of going out to a club for example, appealed to her more. He had to admit, he was the one tugging her out to dinners, to the dance floor and she never said no, but he realized that she enjoyed a calm peace.

 

He cleared his throat, his silken voice calling out, “Any good, Lucy?”

 

Lucy choked as she bit into a cookie, scowling a bit as she took a sip of tea to deal with the cookie in her throat. After a moment, she smiled and nodded, “ye…No.”

 

They both laughed as he moved to join her, settling on the other bench of the window seat, “Oh?”

 

Her golden eyes rolled as she put her bookmark in the book, “brushing up on some of the older laws that might come up at dinner tomorrow with the delegation from Midi.”

 

“trying to impress someone?” He tilted his head, his dark hair falling over his shoulder at the action.

 

The blonde woman shrugged, “hey, I’m the youngest there, we both know I’m going to get snarked at…so, I may as well brush up and be able to lay back into them.” She smirked, “one of a kind dresses that can’t be found anywhere tend to make women catty.”  
  
She leaned forward, gently kissing him and murmuring, “so don’t worry about me, Arman.”

 

“You?” He chuckled, the sound rumbling low in his chest, “I’m more worried about them.” This was what he enjoyed the most that blazing fire of care and love that she ignited with the smallest of touches, the lightest of kisses.


	58. Hopeless

The crowds milled around, small talk and some propositions that she politely turned down and she took in every person she could see. She hated such functions, but the fact that Crown-Apparent Princess Hisui had invited a representative from every one of Fiore’s guilds to what was essentially a peace conference gave Lucy hope the woman wasn’t as off her rocker as she swore the green haired woman was.

 

After everything, she didn’t **want** to be there, but she was the only one equipped to deal with the entire situation. She knew it, Marakov knew it, Laxus knew it…and being ganged up on by both of them, she hadn’t had a chance. Currently, she found herself sipping from a flute of champagne and listening to, if she recalled correctly, The head of the Encan trade federation. She loved the fabrics that were imported, finding them beautiful in a way that she could hardly describe, but the man had been talking and then pulled her in, realizing that the floral under fabric on the bust area of her dress was Encan.

 

Talking textiles was much preferred than talking about if she would be willing to warm a bed of one of the nobles from Seven, or her own Native Fiore. It wasn’t so much their ages, she lived as a working and Guilded Mage which meant her life could end at any moment; no, it was they treated her like she was some poor, unfortunate soul that should be happy to be a trophy on their arm.

 

When she saw a very uncomfortable looking Jura talking to a group of such “men”, she excused herself politely and started across the room, feet deftly shifting to keep her behind people and not make eye contact. The last thing she needed was to actually get drug into a conversation when the Wizard Saint was obviously getting aggravated, if the slight narrowing of his eyes was anything.

 

She’d not had the _pleasure_ of dealing with this group yet, but with a quick move, she finished off her current drink and swapped out flutes on a passing tray before she stepped up to the man, putting a hand on his arm, “Wizard Saint Jura, how pleasant to see you here.”

 

The normally stoic man smiled faintly, “Miss Heartfilia, I had thought I heard your light laugh.”

 

“Heartfilia? As in Jude and Layla?” A man, a baron, if she recalled? What was his name? she couldn’t recall right off hand, only that he was in his Sixties.

 

She smiled warmly at the old, pervy man, watching as his eyes hungrily took in her body and never came above her collarbone, “yes, Mister..?”

 

“Ah, where are my manners?” The man took her hand, kissing it and he ‘looked’ at her face, but his eyes dipped down, “Marquess Sade, the fourth.”

 

Oh. This guy. Right, she remembered hearing about how all his wives had somehow, despite him not being in the home at the time, been sexually brutalized to death. If her suspicions were right, he had either teleportation lacrama, or was a teleportation mage himself. “A pleasure.”

 

“We were just discussing with the Wizard Saint here some more delicate subjects and I would hate to offend a woman’s sensibilities…”

 

She slowly arched an eyebrow as she took her hand back, setting it against Jura’s arm before smiling, “Oh? Which one?” her tone was light and airy, but she’d perfected it during her teenaged years to carry without having to speak loudly, “Perhaps we speak of sexual gratification at the cost of your partners health?” she kept the polite smile on her lips, “It’s not my favorite subject, but I must say that it’s such a daring subject to talk of around so many.”

 

Farron choked on his drink and slowly looked over to the small group that was slowly gaining a lot of eyes. He glanced towards his father, arching an eyebrow. The man actually had an amused look to his eyes, even though his lips still had the polite smile they both used more often than not.

 

“or perhaps it was the topic that the gentry seems to love: taking young ladies who are barely at the cusp of development, buying their bodies, keeping them captive until they are impregnated, very much against their own will, but with no hope to get out of…who then die due to the stress on their bodies?” Lucy just smiled, sipping her drink again, “Fascinating, really. I’m sure in some countries, it would be considered child rape.”

 

The man’s humor had slowly been dwindling and his eyes narrowed, “what the gentry does is hardly that, Miss Heartfilia…”

 

Lucy’s features went flat, “you forget, Marquess, I was formerly of the Gentry. I was nearly sold off in that way, all for an old man’s want for a new, young wife…and a greedy father’s ambition.” She then curtsied, “if you’ll excuse us…I think the Wizard Saint and I shall be retiring from this conversation.” 

 

Without even a ‘by your leave’, she turned, hand tugging the Wizard Saint, the man’s lips just barely quirked in a smile as the whispering started. The man spoke in a deep, if quiet voice, “you know, Lucy-san, I’m afraid you’re not the talk of the ball.”  
  
The blonde woman gave a lazy smirk as she shrugged without a care in the world, “what can I say? It’s a cause that I’m fairly sure it’s hopeless to hope to change, but that doesn’t mean I can’t speak out against it.”

 

The two parted with a small chuckle and the two ambassadors watched as the woman was watched by many, eyes narrowed as she just smiled warmly before approaching the buffet. She looked thoughtful and then picked up a plate, curling her nose before she started to carefully put food on it…and then pile it high.

 

While before the men had been judging her, now the noblewomen were. When she saw the look that one of them gave her, she picked up one of the cherries from a bowl and put it in her mouth, they watched as her tongue obviously moved and she chewed a few times before opening it and pulling out a tied stem, with the pit still attached.

 

“I like her,” Farron grinned.  
  
Arman nodded and smiled warmly, “Layla’s daughter has grown well.”

 

The blue eyed man slowly looked over at his father, “that’s..” he looked back and tilted his head, finally really taking a good look at the woman, “That is Sunflower.”

 

The two slowly stood a bit straighter before he saw the woman walking towards them. She nodded towards the table and smiled, “Mind if I sit? My feet are killing me, this corset wants to kill me..and if I don’t sit while I eat, I’m going to just put my face right down in the plate and eat like a pig.”

 

The two men laughed and nodded, Farron holding out a chair and then sliding it in for her. “Please sit. With your words, I think we’ll be left alone for a bit.”  
  
Lucy waved a hand as she picked up a bit of food and took a bite, “fuck ‘em.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Arman said after a few moments of watching the woman with a very healthy appetite somehow manage to eat daintily.

 

Lucy blinked slowly, “…what?”

 

Farron smiled softly, “we knew your mother…and I remember you.”

 

The honey brown eyes looked confused as she blinked owlishly, “No offense, but I’d remember knowing hot guys.” She blushed as she sat there, “…and I’d like my brain to mouth filter to reengage please.”

 

Arman smiled as he reached over the table, gently putting a hand on the woman’s, “your mother was a wonderful woman, beautiful…and when we were at our most hopeless point in life, she breezed back into it with you, turning that hopeless pessimism into an optimism for a better life.”

 

Lucy blinked again and nodded, pursing her lips, “I’m sorry I can’t…remember that…I must have been young.”

 

Farron smiled, “you spent about four months in bosco when you were a baby..” He grinned slightly, letting the conversation flow. It had gone from a hopeless crush as a child to something more now that he saw her again. He wasn’t sure if it would go anywhere, but he had the night, along with his father to reconnect.


	59. Contagious

Lucy slowly looked around at the current gathering of people. She could see different stages of the illness, each one looking more painful and the last. The woman sipped from her wine glass, attempting to stay calm. Everything was fine. She just had to get to the door before her father-in-law showed up.

 

“Oh look at you!”

 

Shit, she didn’t make it in time. She just smiled as she was swept in a hug, just managing to make sure that she didn’t spill wine on the Eluris suit he was wearing. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

 

Arman gave her a firm look, “look at you.” He shook his head, “Still not joining in with the others to give me a grandbaby?”

 

Lucy wanted to die, she could feel the heated looks from the other women in the room and took a breath, “Arman, Dad. We’re currently not ready to take that step in our relationship….nor add to the growing contagion.”

 

“bah, you two will get baby fever soon enough,” He grinned as he lead her back into the nest of sick vipers that were her friends and the significant others of her husband’s siblings.

 

“I’d really rather not, Arman, truly. We’re doing so much that I just cannot take the time away,” She tried to reason with the man. Where the hell was her husband?! How **dare** he leave her alone to deal with this?! Oh, right...work. Deep breaths, deep calming breaths.

 

She saw mirthfilled eyes from every woman in the room. She was the last and they had been making sure that they would find the correct time to join in the contagion that was baby fever.

 

The Patriarch chuckled a bit, “look, they say when close friends start getting pregnant, they all follow…”

 

Oh, here he went and she could only smile as she felt dread settle into her stomach, “Really, I Like my wines a bit too much right now, it wouldn’t be healthy.”

 

“There are some amazing grape juices that taste just like wine,” Arman smiled, “it’s what the other ladies are drinking.”

 

Did he have a comeback for everything?! She mentally screeched, only half satisfied as Kaleb and Cobra both flinched. “yes, but then I’ll have to be careful, so that I don’t do anything detrimental, which means no summoning my spirits.” She smiled as calmly as she could, “and it’s been awhile since the last…try to take over the world using a Celestial Magic User plot has happened. It’s about time, I can’t risk not being able to defend myself.”

 

“if you’re at your husband’s side, he’ll do that,” The man countered, arching an eyebrow, “and there are always spas to get your hair done daily.”

 

Yup, the man had an answer for everything, “yes, well…”  she tried to think, grasp at anything, “he’s on an extended mission in Midi. I’m afraid it won’t happen for awhile, at best.”

 

“his ship comes in tonight, he finished early.”

 

Her eye twitched a bit. She loved the man, but at times like this, she was really wishing he’d butt out, “Arman, it was a six month mission, he left three weeks ago.”

 

She gave a pleading look to her brother-in-laws, but only found them smirking. Oh, that was it. She suddenly flung herself at them, smacking them as best she could while they laughed at the attack. The woman let out a sound as Cris held her for an extra minute and grinned.

 

“…no.”

 

The Dragon slayer just grinned broader and nodded.

 

Lucy tore herself from the large man, “NO! I refuse to admit it!”

 

“you’re pregnant, Lucy.”

 

The woman’s head fell back as she let out a wail. The sickness had gotten her and she collapsed on the floor, crying, even as everyone cuddled up to her to congratulate her. She needed Zen, she needed the hell away from them, they did this to her. She knew they did.


	60. Love

What is Love? It’s a talk that they often had around late nights with tumblers of Boscan Gold as they watched the Grass Sea at night. They knew passion, in Bosco, there was no way to not know passion, the release that came from passion.

 

Hearts always searched though, looking for the elusive love that seemed just out of finger’s reach. Having a brother that could see Souls, it eased their worries about being alone. There **was** someone out there for them; it was just a matter of finding them, like their Dragon Slayer siblings.

 

Farron sighed as he sipped his drink slowly, looking at Kaleb from the corner of his eye, “So, how are things with Freed?”

 

Kaleb chuckled softly, “good, he’s determined to find the perfect surrogate.” The two smiled at each other before Kaleb spoke softly, “How are you holding up?”

 

“I’m doing Fine,” Farron smiled faintly.

 

Kaleb arched an eyebrow then lightly tapped his own temple, causing Farron to roll his eyes. The two looked at each other and the ambassador shook his head.

 

“It’s hard, but…Levy died protecting a child, something she would have been proud of,” He sipped his drink, “her old team spent hours blaming me, saying if we hadn’t married, she’d be alive.”

 

“how’s Endrik?”

 

“Holding up about as well as can be expected for a four year old that lost his mother,” He gave his brother a semi-bitter smile, “But…I know what it’s like, I spend a lot of time with him..”

 

Kaleb arched an eyebrow and smirked, “Doesn’t help that Lucy apparently chewed your ass up one side and down the other…like her mother did Dad.”

 

Farron looked a bit sheepish, “She did. I remember Miss Layla doing that to Dad…and to be on the receiving end of one of those verbal assaults…I never realized how Dad felt until then.”

 

Kaleb nodded, “she’s feisty. Even after the incident that had Zen bonding to Yukino.”

 

“They’re a happy couple, though…” Farron pursed his lips, “I don’t like how they came together, I can’t, but we know trying to separate them would be bad…plus there’s the boys, it’d be useless to attempt to separate them now.”

 

The Guildmaster sat there for a moment, “She did it to save Lucy, none of us can fault her, and she was just the only one that had the right magic to do it.”

 

Both men shuddered. They remembered that battle, that Dark guild that had literally swept out of Iceburg from the border. The two women had been vacationing on the mountains with Zen, them wearing special chains that easily came off to protect their brother from his own magic.  If Zen’s recount was correct, Lucy had suddenly gotten a ‘bad feeling’ and they’d retreated to their cabin after skiing. The night brought the cabin exploding and fire was everywhere. By the time they’d gotten there, only Yukino and Zen were found and they’d weighed their options.

 

Kaleb himself hadn’t been able to find the woman’s mind for days and it had been Zen who’d brought it up, he could track the woman…if he was mated with another celestial mage. He didn’t look pleased, but they knew that without a mating, Zen would be near mindless. It had been tentative and the relationship had grown, but there was still sadness under the love and joy Lucy had for the two.

 

They’d gone back to Fiore, but Lucy had stayed. There was no ill will, but the woman had to distance herself from it. She’d taken on a commission in the Knights of the Immaculate light and spent as much time out fighting that they requested of her. She’d go anywhere, with a smile and a joking ‘maybe I’ll find the perfect guy for me out there, right?’.

 

He knew the woman wanted love, wanted a deep love that would encompass every bit of her being and she had Yukino had been semi ‘fighting’ over Zen, lavishing the man with very safe, if amorous attention on two fronts. In the end though, Lucy’s power had been what had pushed her away from what he knew would have been a very fulfilling relationship, simply because someone wanted to use her power.

 

He slowly swirled his drink in it’s glass, letting the smell waft up to his nose and he snorted, “So…any word from any of the slayers lately?”

 

“Gajeel and Emi are expecting their third brood already,” Farron chuckled, “laxus and beck are doing amazingly well, bickering like an old married couple from time to time, but…”

 

Both brothers grinned as they looked at one another and shrugged, raising their glasses in a silent toast before Kaleb chuckled, “almost time for Xally to give birth, isn’t it?”

 

“mm, yes, and Natsu is apparently driving her a little crazy with his over protectiveness,” Farron looked amused, “Cris and Cana are doing wonderful too, Mika and Cornelia have Cris on his feet with how rambunctious they are.”

 

“I’d almost wager that Emi’s having so many just to see if she can get a girl like Cris,” Kaleb chuckled and shook his head before sighing, “that leaves Vander…”

 

Farron rolled his eyes, “Please, no one’s been able to pin him do-“

 

Both paused as they felt magic and then what looked like a Giant Hamster wheel was rolling down the beach. It stopped and they both looked at the very dazed shadowquip inside. Kaleb opened his mouth and then shut it, “I don’t know that spell.”

 

“It’s a modified Fairy Sphere,” Lucy’s voice came from above and Pegasus landed, wings kicking up just a bit of the peach sand, “he dared me I couldn’t contain him. I’ve been working on this for years now.”

 

“…I’m not sure how I feel about this…” Kaleb slowly blinked.

 

Lucy shrugged as she hopped down, “which part? A holder using caster magic, or Van looking like he’s been put through a spin cycle.”

 

The orb bulged as Vander came to, the shadowquip snarling as he sent out his magic, “LUCY!”

 

Lucy turned, her head tilting as she smiled “yes, Van?”

 

“Let me out!”

 

Lucy grinned, “once you calm down, I will.”

 

The woman walked to the deck, even as the shadowquip raged and she got herself a drink, sipping it, “So…what are you two talking about?”

 

“An old question that we sometimes ponder,” Farron said, watching the woman. Even with scars from fighting, from pushing herself to the limit, the woman was beautiful.

 

“Oh? Hit me with your best shot,” The woman grinned as she sipped her drink.

 

Kaleb gauged her for a moment before smirking, “What is love?”

 

Lucy’s eyes unfocused before she spoke, her voice soft, “The Origin of Magic. The One Magic came from love. It’s Magic in it’s purest sense, it weaves through our lives, interconnecting us to others, showing us the best in others with any amount of magic that we have in our body.”

 

She turned, finishing her drink and walking back to the glowing sphere, she crouched down and looked at the Shadowquip, smirking and arching an eyebrow, “Done?”

 

“Fine, you win, fuck, Stardust.”

 

Lucy let out a laugh and then the sphere disappeared, “I win, you owe me a case of Boscan Gold.” She waved a hand as she stood, “I’m going home, have a good one guys.”

 

Kaleb sat there, watching her go, “the one magic, huh?”


	61. Yellow

There were a lot of things in life that could fall under the color ‘yellow’: the sun, some stars, hair, eyes and magic, to name but a few.

 

Golden Yellow shimmering in the air? That was always one of those rare things that anyone saw. There weren’t many Celestial Mages left, not any more.

 

Right now? There was a giant yellow beam coming from the sky. Lucy licked her lips, “Possibly something completely horrible coming this way?”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Bickslow said as he watched the sky. “odds of it being after you?”

 

“pfft, you know it is,” the woman cracked her neck, “think there’s overwhelming odds?”

 

The two looked at each other and grinned, speaking at the same time, “Bring it.”

 

Their fists bumped right before they jumped away from one another, the beam of light passing right where the two had been and they rolled on impact. They stayed crouched where they were, just listening. The two looked at each other, making a few hand signs before they were diving into the brush, taking off and staying low. They had full trust that they would both make it to the checkpoint agreed on before.

 

“I can’t sense them!”

 

“fuck! Someone find them!”

 

Both had grins on their lips as they ran, ducking and weaving, they couldn’t risk using their magic yet, not until they got closer to their prize in the darkness.

 

“Why the hell can’t you sense them!?”

 

“why can’t you!?”

 

“I can’t ever hear him! What’s your excuse, Legolas?!”

 

“Who the hell wanted to play this survival game?!”

 

“Sure as FUCK wasn’t me!”

 

Lucy dove as she saw shadows move, waiting until the last moment before her magic flared and she touched it, the light stripping back and she was met with shocked golden eyes. A flick of her finger left a golden mark on his forehead before she was repressing her giggles. They were allowed to use **some** magic, but people like Vander with shadow travel needed to stay ‘near the surface’ for fairness. The light crossed the ground again and Lucy dove to the side, rolling to her feet and sliding behind a tree. She knew it was possible for teams to work together, most of her and Bickslow’s team had been ‘captured’, much to their annoyance, but really Team Natsu was more likely to rush in, which got them captured. The two ranged fighters didn’t bother to help them.

 

They’d been slowly ‘picking off’ other people, enough that every person left was apparently out for them. The woman grinned as she caught a flash of green, knowing Bickslow was using his magic before she veered towards it quickly. She clicked her tongue once and leapt up, grabbing onto one of the totems before both were flying through the tree tops.

 

“FIND THEM!”

 

They grinned to themselves as the goal came into view. one of the home base flags. They weren’t dumb, there had to be someone there and the two landed in the bushes, waiting and watching with narrowed eyes. It took a few moments before they saw who was there and nodded. It was obvious that the blue team had decided to let their heavy hitters go out.

 

Lucy would feel sorry later for landing a kick to Cana’s stomach and watching her slam into the wall to be knocked out. She rolled up the flag and then took off, snickering as she heard the rest of the ‘home base’ team letting out an alarm. She dove, hand moving up and she was swung up, the woman clinging to bickslow’s back.

 

A buzzer went off and Kaleb’s voice was heard, “That is game. Yellow Team wins. Red Team, Blue team, report for Punishment game. Last Remaining players on Yellow Team will dole out punishment.”

 

The two let out laughter, Bickslow’s delighted cackling ringing in the air, enough to send shivers to the mages that had lost.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The two mages sat, sipping from drinks at the pool, Lucy snapping her fingers, “You’re slowing on that fanning.”

 

Bickslow cackled as he relaxed against the poolside, “man Cosplayer, you’re evil.” Every one of the losing mages was wearing a Bunny Suit, complete with ears and heels. Except Kaleb, he was dressed like an Elf, complete with prosthetic ears.

 

The woman arched an eyebrow as she lowered her sunglasses, winking, “I rather much like seeing all the guys dressed like this.”

 

Laxus rolled his eyes, “you cheated some how.”

 

The blonde woman looked up at the lightning slayer, “you’re a sore loser.”

 

Cristoff smirked as he stood, holding out a spoon towards the woman with a bite of the parfait that was on the tray he had, “I’m finding this fun.”

 

Lucy let out a soft hum as she took the bite and let out a moan, “oh, so good…” She shifted and then squeaked.

 

Vander looked up at her, nail polish at the ready, “Stay still.”

 

She looked down her body at him, “hmm, that’s a pretty silver, good choice.”


	62. Revenge

She’d fairly warned them when they’d all watched as many things happened at once: Natsu threw a Fire ball, A Glitterbomb that Vander had set up went off and Lightning had gone up her side and cut her shirt off, somehow, laxus still didn’t know how, he was aiming at Natsu. So she warned them: she’d get them all back for just laughing and not helping her avoid the resulting catastrophe.

 

It had now been two months and between the group from Fairy Tail and the group from White Sea they were paranoid. Lucy smiled sweetly at them, her eyes showing she was plotting. Both Cobra and Kaleb had attempted to poke around to see if they could hear anything, all it go was honeyed brown eyes on them, and thought nukes enough to give them both headaches….and that creepy smile.

 

Akane Resort for Xally’s graduation was perfect, they hoped that by bringing the blonde along, paying her bill, they’d get her to lay off. So far they’d seen her three times in five days and each time, her eyes still promised revenge.

 

The mages were currently in one of the lounges for a set of connecting rooms, all of them having grave and serious looks on their faces.

 

“Alright, so…we’ve tried...apologizing…” Vander pursed his lips.

 

Laxus nodded, “Clothing sprees…”

 

“Outfits from Eluris too,” Cristoff frowned as he sat back, eyes narrowing.

 

“her picking missions since then…” Natsu sighed.

 

“All inclusive vacation…” Farron snorted, “and how did I get roped into this? I wasn’t even there.”

 

“Guilt by association,” Kaleb chuckled and shook his head, “and we’ve got no idea what’s going on in her head.”

 

Farron sighed, “alright, I’m going to go negotiate. You all stay here.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Lucy, may I have a bit of your time, to talk?” Farron smiled politely as he stood by her chair at the pool.

 

Lucy slowly lowered her sunglasses, looking over the top of them, “alright.”

 

“Shall I pick you up in an hour, for dinner?”

 

The woman arched an eyebrow, “..sure.” she watched the ambassador walk away, tilting her head and letting out a low whistle before murmuring, “…damn he fills out those trunks.”

 

Farron grinned, having trained his magic to hear what the woman might say. Yes, this wouldn’t be simple, but it wouldn’t hurt negotiations.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The Ambassador had reserved a VIP room in one of the Clubs in the resort, having a nice dinner picked out as well as some wine. He Smiled as he helped the woman into her seat and carefully pushed it in.

 

He had to admit, the ombre silver to midnight blue evening gown looked nice on the woman…and the slits up to her hips did wonders to show off her toned legs. He himself had put on a pair of buttercream black leather pants, a vest and a dress shirt, not too much, but not too little.

 

Farron smiled over the table to her as he filled their wine glasses, “you look lovely.”

 

“Thank you, Farron,” Lucy smiled as she picked up the glass and slowly sipped it, “So you wanted to talk about something?”

 

“Yes, I’ve been sent to negotiate peace between you and a certain group of people.”

 

Lucy slowly blinked as she sat there, “I can’t think of anything like that…”

 

“It appears my brothers and a few of your guildmates are terrified waiting on retribution from you over their actions around two months ago,” Farron watched her, gauging her reaction.

 

Lucy snorted and then snickered, “Oh, that?” her lips split into a large grin.

 

“yes, that…” He was wary now, especially with how she was acting, “I am here to negotiate peace…”

 

Lucy chuckled and waved a hand sipping her drink and setting it down as the salads were brought out. She slowly started to eat, not speaking for a few bites, “I’m not angry at them any more..but…if narrowed eyes makes them guilty, they might not be over it.”

 

Farron opened his mouth and closed it, “So…you’re not going to do anything to them?”

 

The woman shook her head and smirked, “nope, they’re doing it all to themselves. I expect Natsu to be at my feet begging for forgiveness by the end of the week…without me having to lift a finger or chip my nails.”

 

“you are a devious woman.”

 

Lucy gently picked up her glass and slightly raised it to the man, “I try some times.”


	63. Sanctuary

At One time, her friends had been her saving grace, where she could go to feel safe. Then things changed, the insults were hurled and she just felt less and less safe, less and less respected by the hour.

 

Then Tataros happened and she saw exactly how much she meant to them. She’d drug herself out, checking to see who was there and then checked on Laxus and his team, smiling at Bickslow as she saw them at least sitting up.  
  
She’d been invited to go with them to Bosco, to meet up with his family, to recover. She had tried to decline, but when asked if she really had anywhere else to go…she didn’t. She could go to Crocus, but with Fairy tail being disbanded, she didn’t trust her own safety in any place Hisui had a lot of influence.

 

They were welcomed happily, but she couldn’t quite smile all the way. She brushed off concerns as just an issue from the hard battle and needing sleep; what she didn’t see was sharp eyes looking at her keyring and seeing the broken key.

 

He’d contacted the Academe Celestine, asking what could break a golden key and the information had him floored. Talking with Biscklow, he realized none of them knew what happened while they were laid up had been worrying, but he didn’t talk about the broken key. The woman didn’t want anyone to know; she wasn’t hiding it, but she obviously had no want to actually think on it.

 

Neither truly knew when it changed, from a wary friendship on her part to something more. She was sure it was somewhere around New years and had to do with a fruity drink that she had no clue what was in it.

 

She’d woken feeling…safe again. Not that she didn’t feel safe in the house, this was a different sort of safe; being fully clothed had also been a shock. She was used to being at least half naked when she woke to her head pounding like it was. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she was lulled by his presence and decided she didn’t want to ‘morning’ right then and curled back up.

 

She was healing, little by little, gently being tugged along to the consulate, talked to as much as he could…and there was wondrous, delicious, mouth watering Encan Coffee there.  She couldn’t count the days that she would half listen to what he talked to his aid about and just zoned out while drinking the coffee.

 

He’d always laugh when she’d blink back to the here and now and he’d refill her mug. He couldn’t help it, she was adorable with she had a light blush on her cheeks, but holding a coffee mug possessively and making sounds normally reserved for lovers as she drank the dark brew? That had his heart slowly turning from just a friend to something more, especially when one late night, over a single drink, she broke down about Tataros.

 

That night had changed things, he saw a different side of her, not just a mage, but a very vulnerable woman that had been left time and time again and he swore that he would make that never happen again. He could always use an extra aid, and she was there. She learned quickly and one thing he learned, no coffee mug was **ever** empty.

 

At the One year mark of knowing one another, he’d found his sanctuary in her. Familiar magic making it easy to open his heart again, that or just seeing her spinning in the air and her clothing changed did it. Many men had paused in what they were doing then, she was very good looking after all.

 

Though his sons still came on various assignments, She was always there, making sure things were smooth and buying more and more keys every time she saw one. He still saw the haunted look in her eyes though and he knew why. There was one key that she missed.

 

At two years of being close, after far too many contacts, he’d nodded to himself. They’d admitted to one another that they found each other as Home. The holiday gathering was going well, he’d just pestered Cris about grandbabies. Again. Only this time, he grinned as she had poked at him as well, saying he was such a stingy son.

 

It had gotten laughs all around, and her smile reached her eyes. The gifts weren’t much, mostly for fun, until she opened a small box wrapped in star patterned fabric. There was not just a key, but a ring and she looked at him.

 

His boys and girls stood there before Bickslow cackled, “Cosplayer, you’re now a MILF!”

 

Her eyes had rolled and then she smirked, Virgo popping out right next to the Seith, making him screech like a little girl. “punishment, hime?”

 

The woman picked up her drink and slowly sipped it, “Bixy needs Punishment.”

 

The Sieth looked at her, then to the spirit before he took off, “FUCK!”

 

There was a lot of laughter and she curled up with him in front of the fire place after they’d all gone home.

 

“thank you, Lucy.”

 

She shook her head and smiled softly at him, “no, thank you, Arman, for sticking with me…teaching me…showing me how steady a person can be.” She leaned up a bit gently kissing him.


	64. Breathe

In all his years, he’d only forgotten to breathe a few times: meeting his former wife for the first time had stolen his breath, her death, their son’s death, both had stolen his breath from him, seeing an old friend act like an avenging angel at nine months pregnant on him had stolen his breath, and then sent a panic when she’d gone into labor.

 

The healing waters of the Grass Sea had been half the reason that her husband had agreed to let her go there that late in her pregnancy. Layla always had a weak constitution and Jude, for all his dislike of Bosco, wanted what was best for his wife.  The little girl’s eyes had taken his breath away. It wasn’t uncommon for children to be born with nearly black navy eyes, they always changed within a few weeks closer to what they would be as they grew up, but this little girl had been born with golden eyes.

 

It would be Eight months that Layla had to stay, simply for her own health and the little girl. He enjoyed those months, watching Farron warm, watching Layla smile.

 

“Are you going to be my new Mom?” It had been an innocent question from the boy and the woman smiled warmly as she cupped the boy’s cheek and his own breath catching in his throat.

 

“I think my husband will be upset if I stay here, Farron,” Her voice was soft, but he could see that she was recovering far too slowly.

 

The boy looked crestfallen, “Oh…will you…Visit?”

 

Layla smiled warmly, “of course. You and your Father are always welcome to visit Lucy and Me as well.” She kissed the boy on the forehead, “now, come on, our ship leaves in the morning, no pouting.”

 

Arman had taken his growing brood to an Embassy in Crocus a few times, to meet with Layla and the little bundle of fresh air that was Lucy. The girl was growing to an extent. She was tiny and he supposed that worked because Layla had never been a tall woman, but she was full of fire.

 

His breath left him again years later as he heard of her death. Nurem had said there was a disturbance in magic, the dragon not in the least bit happy about it and he’d eventually gotten a letter and was told to not bother to visit anymore.

 

Having to send Bickslow away had hurt, but he knew his son would at least run the possibility of running across the blonde that had saved and helped his family. He wasn’t sure where the girl was, but he’d kept an ear out after he heard about the downfall of the Konzern.

 

It was years later, when his son brought home his team that he saw brown eyes, blonde hair and for a moment, his breath caught again. It was like a trip back in time. She was half joking with Bickslow and Evergreen was smacking his son’s arm. It didn’t take much for him to have the memories of something similar while walking in Minstrel as a young man and he smiled softly when he regained his ability to take in air. It wasn’t quite the same, but it was enough that it had sparked the old memories.

 

He didn’t realize he’d said anything until the young woman was looking at her, “…You knew Mama?”

 

Arman cleared his throat, nodding “I did. She was a wonderful woman.”

 

The woman smiled softly, “She was..” her nose curled a bit as she stood there, “this smells…familiar.”

 

“You did live here for eight months as a baby,” Arman offered his arm, smiling as she took it and laid her free hand lightly on top of his forearm, “your mother was a good friend to myself and my wife.” He pursed his lips, “How…did she die?”

 

The woman let out a low hum, “She went to Crocus to answer a summons when I was young…” her lips curled into a sad smile, “…she came back, saying she’d used the telescope to see an odd meteor shower..and died four days later.” The woman shook her head, hand lifting to gently wave as they walked inside.

 

Bickslow blinked slowly and followed after his father, shrugging off the questioning looks he was getting. He smiled as he stood in the doorway, the two sitting and speaking as if they were old friends. He supposed they were, he vaguely recalled trips to Fiore, a blonde woman and a very little blonde girl, but given her size, the girl couldn’t have been that old.

 

She chuckled softly as she sat there and shook her head, “I thought Bixy was that Bickslow…but it felt weird to ask, you know?” she smiled and blushed, “was silly probably, to not make the connections.” She let out a faint sigh, “But…so much happened and Father…well…a lot happened and my mind shut out a lot of easy to make connections from my childhood, just so I could cope.”

 

The conversation continued through the afternoon and he caught his breath catching quite a few times as she laughed and smiled, enjoying time with his children and wagging fingers at them in a way that reminded him very much of her mother.


	65. Umbrella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School AU
> 
> Umbrella, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Apologize and White all are in this AU

It was the rainy season and at the Ishgar International School of Magic, that was bad. It was settled on the border between Fiore and Bosco, having the ‘best’ of both sides. Though, if he was honest, there wasn’t too much good from Fiore, other than some of the students who just soaked up as much knowledge as they could.

 

He watched the rain pour down and debated on getting through the downpour. He curled his nose as he stood there and then took a breath. He shook his head and smiled a bit before he stepped out the doors and then opened his umbrella. The wind wasn’t bad at least.

 

He half turned as he heard cursing and then watched as one of the newer students, a bubbly blonde that he’d seen in the hallways stopped at the doorway. She groaned as she held a door in each hand and slumped, giving him, in his eyes, a very nice view down her shirt.

 

“fuuuuuuuck…” She took a breath and swallowed, “okay…it’s fine…ten minute dash to the dorms. I can do this…” she carefully checked her backpack and mumbled as she resecured the flap on it, “everything should stay dry.

 

He found it amusing, she didn’t seem to even register he was there, too caught up in her own little world and that just didn’t seem to happen, to him or his brothers. The five of them simply just got too much attention for their looks. “I’m going towards the dorms, if you want to share my umbrella.”  
  
She let out a yelp and blinked, honey golden eyes wide and owlish, “oh! Oh…um…” Her lips pinched a bit as her brow furrowed, “I mean…it’s fine, thanks but…”

 

“I don’t mind,” He continued to watch her in amusement, watching the light blush on her cheeks, “I’m going that way anyway.”

 

The blonde rocked from side to side on her feet as she held her bag in both hands as if debating before she bit her lip and nodded once, “Okay, I’ll pay you back.”

 

“No need,” He smirked as he held out an arm, “come on, it’s a bit of a small umbrella.

 

Her eyes went wider if it was possible and she slowly walked over, letting out a sound as he wrapped an arm around her. She was rather small, even for Fiore girls, most of whom he knew had at least four inches on her and he liked that she fit snuggly into his side.

 

He debated on asking questions, but the girl seemed lost in her own mind and when they finally got to the girls’ dorms, she smiled as she stood under the awning.

 

The blonde girl bowed and smiled as she stood, “Thank you, really!” she blushed, “Sheesh, sorry, I forgot to ask your name, I’m Lucy, Lucy heartfilia, a pleasure to meet you….?”

 

He grinned at her and winked before he turned, waving over his shoulder, “Names Vander. Vander Pradesh.”

 

She blinked as he walked away and tilted her head, “why does that name sound familiar…” She slipped into the dorm, squeaking as she was mobbed.

 

“how far did you get?!”

 

“you shared an umbrella!”

 

“DETAILS! Are you going out?!?!”

 

Oh, right…this was why she avoided being around guys…the girls in her dorm were vultures for gossip, “…I didn’t know who he was until just  now…”

 

“Oh, Lu, Honey…come with me…we’ll get out the dorm magazine…and introduce you to some of the yummiest guys on campus…” A brunette purred, “maybe even git rid of your V card!”

 

The blonde blushed darkly at the laughing and held her bag closer to her chest, “I…think I just want to go to my room.”


	66. Autumn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School AU
> 
> Umbrella, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Apologize and White all are in this AU

As the weather got cooler, the uniforms got longer, much to the dismay of the boys. However, it also brought festivals. The Cultural Festival was one of the biggest things that happened at Ishgar Internatioanl School of Magic and it always caused a stir.

 

There were massage parlors, cafés, haunted houses, everything one could think of happening. The Boscan Parlors were always very popular, but it seemed that there was a new type of display this year, from one of the first year classrooms: a planetarium.

 

Now, it wasn’t to say that the school didn’t have one, but to have a class room converted to one was interesting enough that it seemed popular.  So, he decided to have a look during his off time from his own class’ café that they were running with Rich Boscan chocolate dishes, among other things.

 

The class in question was at the end of the hall and strangely enough part of it was cordoned off. He tilted his head as he got close, blinking as he saw the girls outside in the hallway, smiling and answering questions…in Cosplay. He supposed with the symbols on their persons, it was to represent various constellations. There was a young girl with blue hair, wearing a white…’dress’ of some sort and looking embarrassed.

 

However, he did see the blonde that he’d walked home that one day during the rainy season and arched an eyebrow. While the others girls and guys had on quite modest outfits, she was wearing a strange pair of one legged pants, boots and a bikini top in a cowprint.

 

The girl was talking animatedly and nodding, “oh, fully, each constellation has it’s own animal represented against it.” She waved to the blue haired girl, “Levy here represents Aries, the ram.”  


“I feel underdressed,” The blunette whined as she tugged at her skirt.

 

A redhead wearing a maid outfit and shackles and chains looked down at Levy, “it is accurate; it came from an old tome from centuries ago!”

 

The blonde, Lucy, that was her name right…yes. Her name was Lucy, grinned broadly, “Actually, that book came from my personal library. My family has a long history of using magic related to the stars. They said that the depictions were from the Spirits of the Stars themselves!”

 

“Then why aren’t you just wearing a cow print bikini bottom,” Levi snarked as she tugged at the fluffy skirt again.

 

Lucy huffed, “because…this is the outfit that was granted, centuries ago, to female Mages that achieved the illusive Star Dress magic.” She crossed her arms under her chest and he grinned.

 

This would be fun, he smoothly moved through the crowd, leaning against the wall and watching her, “Really? You gonna give someone a Rodeo with those buns?”

 

The golden brown eyes snapped around and Lucy looked ready to snap before her face went red. She sputtered and stomped her foot, “That’s not funny! Or appropriate! Taurus is not like…that…” who was she kidding, she knew the zodiac was a damn pervert. Her magic lessons were all private because of what type of magic she wore…and really, no one needed to know that, just like no one needed to know that she was actually in Star Dress and not a costume…or that she’d gotten help from one of her Spirits to make the costumes as accurate as possible.

 

Vander smirked as he pushed off, the males around them simply stepping back. He was glad that he was boscan, most non-boscans knew to back off. “really now?”

 

Lucy huffed and put a hand against his chest and he blinked as he pressed forward and she stood firm with her feet planted, “Yes, now…unless you have actual questions, or wish to see our display…” her lips curled back and she snorted…smoke. Alright, to him that was just a bit sexy, “you can go.”

 

He held up his hands, “I wouldn’t mind a private astronomy class, it’s a third year class only.” He leaned forward a bit more and grinned, “would you like to offer? Maybe we can map out the stars on your sk-“

 

“LUCY KICK!” the blonde spun and he grunted at the impacts, first the foot against his side and then the wall. It took him a moment before he blinked, realizing he’d left an indent.

 

The blonde looked down at him and arched an eyebrow, “well?”

 

“…’m good, give me a few minutes.”

  
  
She gave him a smile and then turned, “alright, now…since that’s over! Who has questions?”

 

He didn’t hear the questions being asked, but he did watch the blonde. She may have had some strength in her legs, but that was…abnormal strength and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. Oh, this would be fun…and if he terrorized her a little bit, well all the more fun.


	67. Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School AU
> 
> Umbrella, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Apologize and White all are in this AU

In all retrospect, while Vander had attempted to see if he could poke, prod and play pranks on Lucy since she’d kicked him into the wall at the Cultural Festival…he’d ended up in more strangely compromising positions than she had. Her lips now sported a little, secretive smirk each time they saw each other in the hallways. 

 

He went over all this plans to this point, trying to find out where he’d went wrong. In Gym, ‘accidentally’ spike a volley ball in her face. The Result? She’d managed to shift her body back enough in an amazing show of agility, smack it straight up, her teammate had set the ball up and he swore that he saw the symbol for Taurus in her eyes right before the ball had spiked into his stomach, putting him on his ass. He was the school’s bad boy dammit! He did not enjoy being shown up by a blonde bubbly cheerleader type!

 

Hiding her umbrella when another set of storms came in? she’d sighed and grumbled before walking out, stomping through the water. He’d attempted to ask if she wanted to share and her eyes narrowed before she looked up and smirked. After she’d walked away, he looked up and realized he was using a very pink umbrella, with bunnies all over it. Where the hell did his black and red one go!?

 

That was fine, he could deal with that, it had gotten quite a few girls flocking to him at his “Sensitivity” on the walk to the dorms and a few trips to one of the gazebos around campus in the next few days. He’d call that one a win for him.

 

Paint filled water balloons? Somehow, even though she’d been covered in paint, he’d sat down and there were thumbtacks on his seat. He knew it was her, he just couldn’t **prove** it. He would. This was now personal.

 

Vander had gotten downright mean in his pranks. He’d stolen her outdoor shoes. He retaliation was confetti exploding out of his shoe locker. He’d waited until she walked away from her bento, put hot sauce on it when he realized there was already a red sauce on it. The yell of ‘hot!’ had been heard across the entire school. His next meal at the canteen was supposed to be a sweet bun set, it ended up nearly burning his tastebuds off and his brother Cristoff had sniffed it and snorted, simply saying ‘Ghost Peppers’.

 

It was on. Now it was coming up on the Winter Holiday. He’d made himself look as good as he could and gone to her classroom. He watched her as she packed up, “So…some friends and I are having a little get together, they wanted to invite you.”

 

She eyed him warily as she finished packing up, “I really don’t think I can go.”

 

“c’mon, lighten up a bit, live a little,” He grinned, “promise, no pranks at the gathering.”

 

She eyed him even more before nodding, “Okay. Where.”

 

“There’s a Karaoke parlor, we’re all meeting there tomorrow evening.”

 

She took a breath as she looked at him and nodded, “Fine.”

 

He’d set it all up, gotten his friends to help who were some sort of weird ass engineers. They’d set up cameras and a bucket of paint. When she opened the door, it was streamed right to MagiTube as the red paint fell over her. The look on her face…hurt though. She actually looked ready to cry. He’d seen her stand up to a lot and not once bat an eye. This though…seemed to bother her.

 

His oldest brother had literally cuffed him over the head, saying he’d gone too far and that’s when he realized maybe he had taken the pranks a bit far. Now…he just had to make it up to her….somehow.


	68. Apologize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School AU
> 
> Umbrella, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Apologize and White all are in this AU

Normally, Vander and his brothers had an ongoing challenge. The person with the most chocolates at the end of Valentine’s day got a cake, but this year, he wasn’t feeling it. He’d been moody, they’d noticed, since winter break…and the many cuffs over the head when all his brother’s had seen what he’d done. He was known to go too far, and they accepted it, but none of them wanted to see a girl cry. He really didn’t either, but he’d gotten a bit caught up in what had been going back and forth between them.

 

She’d been quite actively avoiding him, he’d tried leaving her apology letters in her shoe locker, only to find them in his own with ‘fuck you’ written very boldly across them. His newest challenge…was to apologize.

 

He was not good with apologies. At all. In Fact, his entire family realized he sucked at apologizing, but they wouldn’t step in to help him with this. He’d gotten himself into this…now he had to get himself out. The first step had been to take down the video…which had already gotten over half a million views by the time he’d done it half an hour after it posted.

 

As it was, he was finishing up what he hoped would be a good apology in the common room kitchen of the dorm. He had a bit of flour everywhere, and a whole mess of chocolate strung from one end of the counter to the other, but as he carefully finished with the truffle, he took a breath and laid it in the velvet lining of the box he’d made. He didn’t care that this was a Girl’s holiday…he had to set it right, if only to get his brothers to stop scowling at him.

 

She was avoiding even them, and apparently, Bix was her lab partner in Chemistry and it made Lab work hell. Now, he could deal with it affecting himself, but affecting his brothers? He knew he had to make it right.

 

The dark haired young man carefully pulled out a red ribbon that had just a tiny bit of black threaded into it and tied it in an intricate bow. He looked at the kitchen, then the clock and groaned. He had four hours before classes started for the day and a mess to clean up. Looked like he was pulling an all nighter and he didn’t feel bad about it.

 

He groaned at all the candy that was already in his locker, opening the bag he had just for that and shoving them all in so he could change shoes. Then he looked at it and started down the hallway. He took deep breaths as he was stopping, smiling as politely as he could, opening the bag to let the chocolates be put in, but he wasn’t feeling it this year.

 

Eventually, he stopped outside her classroom and really looked. He thought she was at least friendly with her class, but she was sitting apart as the rest of the class was grouped up. His lips drew into a frown. He hadn’t realized that as she always seemed to have someone at her side, but…maybe it wasn’t what it seemed. He slowly slipped in, leaving the bag on the floor by the door and then took a breath. Alright, he could do this. He knew there were plenty of eyes on him and he slowly walked towards her.

 

Her eyes narrowed at him and she sneered, “what do you want?”

 

Vander’s steps faltered for a moment and he gave her a faint, sad smile, “…look, I’m sorry…I don’t know…what I did, but…I know I went too far.”

 

She arched an eyebrow, mouth opening as she readied a scathing reply only to blink at the ornate box he held out. She warily eyed him as she took it, “what’s this? Buy it?”

 

Vander shook his head, “no, I was up all night…” he rolled his eyes at her skeptical look, “I screwed up, okay? I figure…you don’t seem typical. This is my sorry, they’re hand made boscan style truffles.”

 

She slowly, and quite warily, opened it, very much feeling every stare on her. She looked at the candy inside and then sniffed the box as she brought it up, still eyeing him.

 

“It’s…chocolate. It’s like a crime to ruin chocolate,” He said as he rubbed the back of his neck, “promise, it’s safe.”

 

Her eyes narrowed before she took one and bit into it. Her eyes lit up and she let out a low happy moan, “shit…this is Boscan chocolate?”

 

“Yeah, I really screwed up…and I’m sorry for whatever I did…really…I just…took shit a bit far…” Vander shrugged, “it’s…a bit of my thing when I get going.”

 

She rolled her eyes, “Fine, I fucking forgive you.” She looked at him, eyes narrowing, and waving him away.

  
  
He shook his head as he walked to the door and picked up the bag he’d left there, “Those are Gyaku chocolates by the way!”

 

She watched him go and tilted her head, “…what’s a Gyaku Chocolate?” She let out an eep as one of her classmates sat down and grinned, “what? What is that look for?”

 

The girl with red hair grinned, “you don’t know what Gyaku chocolates are?”

 

Lucy slowly shook her head, “no…?”

 

“Honmei chocolates…only from a guy.”

 

Lucy sat there and her face turned bright red, “wh-what?!”

 


	69. White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School AU
> 
> Umbrella, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Apologize and White all are in this AU

Lucy had huffed and while the other girls of the dorm were going on and waiting to see what they got for White day, she was in the dorm kitchens, grumbling as she stirred chocolate in a double boiler, “Really Erza, I don’t see why I have to do this!”

 

“because you got Gyaku chocolates for Valentine’s day!” The redhead looked at her seriously as she stood over the smaller blonde.

 

Lucy huffed a bit, “he’s a jerk at times.”

 

The redhead smiled a bit, “yes, but he apologized and caused a stir, enough that you suddenly have a fanclub of both boys and girls because you ‘tamed’ the school bad boy.”

 

“I didn’t tame him at all!” She huffed, “he started it.”

 

“be the bigger woman, Lucy,” She hugged her friend, “Don’t be up too late, we have classes tomorrow.”

 

The blonde huffed as she went back to what she was doing and then carefully poured the chocolate into a mold, “Stupid Boscans. Stupid traditions. Stupid everything.” She grumbled, “was so much easier before I came here.”

 

In the end, only one of the poured chocolates came out decently well, but it was the thought, right? She looked at the twelve pieces, he’d given her twelve, it was only right…though…the carefully thought out Zodiac signs were off centered and a bit warped on some of them.

 

She was NOT good with making chocolates, give her a cake to bake and she was good, but not this….and she wasn’t making him a cake. Chocolates for Chocolates. She nodded to herself before she let out a breath and then carefully packaged the candies in a slightly blue bag with white stars all over it.

 

The next morning had her slinking down the second year hallways and trying to not look too out of place. She saw him and his brothers, and she really felt bad for Bickslow, he was one of the best lab partners she had…and she’d been a right bitch about the last few months. Putting on her proverbial big girl panties, she strode to the table they were at in the common area. She held out a bag to the black and red haired Pradesh.  
  
”what’s…this?” He eyed her carefully, he’d already given out a dozen small White Day gifts, and this wasn’t expected.

 

Lucy snorted, “per local traditions, as you gave me chocolates on Valentine’s day I am obligated to give something back for White day.” She stared, “If you don’t want them, Bix can have them.”

 

Vander scrambled forward, grabbing the bag before his brother, “no, no…just didn’t expect it…that’s all.” He pulled one out and arched an eyebrow “…you..tried..they’re very pretty.”

 

She huffed, “Shut up, I’m not good with making chocolates!”

 

He let out a hum and bit into the white chocolate piece and nodded, “Thank you…”

 

She turned and waved, “welcome…and Bix…see you in class. I’m sorry for the past few months.”

 

“do I get chocolates?”

 

Her eyes rolled, “no. maybe I’ll be nice and make Giri next year.”

 

Vander watched her go and then swallowed the candy, “they’re not ba-HEY!” he grumbled as his brothers all took one, eating them and grinning broadly, “those were mine!”

 

“Fair Game, little bro,” Farron smirked.


	70. Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School AU
> 
> Umbrella, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Apologize and White all are in this AU

Spring meant many things at the Ishgar International school of Magic. The biggest one was Parent Visitation day.  He knew it had to be done and he and his brothers loved their father, but they were not looking forward to it. Older students knew who their father was, and the single mothers all seemed to try to flock. Newer students, who were admitted in the last year, knew nothing about it, but it wasn’t like they hid their last names.

 

It was more a day for Arman Pradesh to attempt to see if his boys had found girlfriends, or their sisters boyfriends.. They truly dreaded it, however, like good sons, they showed him around campus, Xally and Emzadi had ‘class fieldtrips’ and had gotten out of this, but not them.

 

“So, any girls that’ve caught your boys’ eyes?” The Ambassador grinned broadly, especially at the groans from his boys.

 

“Dad! Come on, we’re here to learn, not get girlfriends.” All the boys nodded in agreement with Kaleb, let him talk, it was easier on them.

 

“Now, I’m not saying you’re not here to learn, but there are a lot of diverse and well educated girls here. It might be a good choice,” The man smiled as he walked.

 

Vander rolled his eyes and then frowned as he saw a head of familiar blonde hair sitting in a class room. That was odd, she should have her parents to show around. He nudged Bickslow and nodded towards the window, giving his brother a curious look.

 

His brother followed his gaze and frowned, “…that’s…odd. I mean, really odd.”

 

Vander pursed his lips, “it is…I mean it’s halfway through the day…unless her folks left early?”

 

“Lucy!” they all looked towards the set of redheads that walked up to the window.

 

Lucy smiled as she opened it and leaned out, “hey Ezra, what’s up?”

 

“this is my mother, Irene, Mother, this is Lucy, the girl I told you about.”

 

The older Redhead slowly looked the blonde up and down, “yes, she seems sufficiently feminine enough to be able to help you, I approve.”

 

Lucy opened her mouth and then shut it, giving a smile, “…thank…you?”

 

“I formally request that you help my daughter learn how to be feminine,” Irene spoke, tone serious.

 

Lucy didn’t know how to take this. There were plenty of odd **students** but she had never met such an odd parent. She nodded once, “…a…alright.”

 

“where are your parents? I should like to meet them, they have raised a very good young woman,” Irene spoke, crossing her arms on her chest.

 

Vander watched the smile fall from her face and tilted his head. His entire family had stopped to see what he was watching…and Really, When Irene Belserion spoke, everyone heard it.

 

“Father couldn’t make it,” She smiled faintly, “he had business to attend to.”

 

The woman frowned a bit, “what of your mother?”

 

The blonde let out a shuddering breath, “…she passed away years ago.”

 

“my condolences,” The woman gave a faint smile and took her hand, “I shall be your new mother then.”

 

Lucy sputtered a bit, face turning as red as the woman and her friend’s hair, “no no! it’s fine…I mean-“

 

“Nonsense, every girl needs a mother!” The woman then quite literally drug the blonde out of the window, “Come! We shall shop! And you shall help us.”

 

Vander watched the small group go and snorted in humor, “I shouldn’t laugh…but…”

 

Kaleb cleared his through, pale eyes dancing, “that was funny…and really, no one says ‘no’ to Miss Belserion…or her daughter.”

 

Arman shook his head, watching as the tall, red haired woman slung the blonde over her shoulder and started towards the gates, “…it looks like she needs saved…”

 

“She’ll be fine…”

 

Vander smirked, “You say that now…I hear her shopping sprees are as bad as Emi’s…”

 

They all paused, each making a face, before bowing their heads as if in prayer. Bickslow spoke, “We give our condolences for the exhaustion about to take our schoolmate over on this day.”


	71. Malice

The large tournament hall was loud, rambunctious and just busy and it wasn’t even lunch time. The growing popularity of L-Sports had boomed over the last few years, to the points where events like this were always packed.

 

Kaleb absently listened to the chatter on the open channel with his brothers, all of them ready in case something happened. None of them thought anything would, but with everything that could go on in the world these days, the event coordinators were taking zero chances.  All types of events where there were women competitors were being attacked and all signs pointed to the Elite forces of Peregrande.

 

In the stadium there were currently no less than five female competitors and that was just counting one team, on their overall line up, not which five were taking the stage. The lights went down as the laser light show started and Kaleb watched the crowd. He knew where each of his brothers and other teammates were, some of them dressed in civilian clothing and actually mixed in with the crowd, cheering blending in while keeping an eye out.

 

 _“Ladies and Gentlemen! The Ishgar L-Game Commission welcomes you to the Final and much anticipated round of the Legends of Dragonia Tournament!”_ Kaleb barely flinched at the crowd roaring cheers at the broadcast through the stadium. He wasn’t sure how in the world over forty thousand people had bought tickets, but his youngest brother, Vander, had been giddy beside himself about the assignment, which was abnormal. _“As you  know, this year we’ve had an amazing spread of teams from all over Ishgar! I present to you, your two finalist teams and their playline up for the night! Hailing from Magnolia, Fiore, We are proud to present Five of the Seven Dragons of Ishgar!”_ Kaleb’s eyes did cross a bit at the screaming this time. He wasn’t sure how people were so excited.

 

He watched as five figures stepped up onto the stage as smoke curled around them and absently listening to the announcer, _“We give you The Thunder God, Salamander, Black Steel and the Twin Dragons!”_  The crowd seemed to roar as one…and he really was starting to question his sanity…or his hearing. He watched the five males slowly walk to a bank of L-Coms, settling into chairs and pulling on headsets that, supposedly, blocked out almost all outside sound. Each Flipped down a microphone and they grinned as they waited. He could see they were talking to one another, but he couldn’t hear it over the crowd.

 

 _“and their Opponents! From Stella, they call themselves the Zodiac Warriors!”_ Kaleb could feel the cheers now, eyes narrowing as he watched the crowd, then half turned to look at the stage. While the other team had come out to Smoke, it was as if glitter hung in the air. He was fairly certain it was laser lights, but what shocked him was that the team slowly rose through the floor. _“Their Roster of fourteen made them the biggest hurdle for most in this tournament, never knowing which of them would end up on stage!”_ He took in the figures, at least two were female, but three of them were quite small. The smallest one brought a hand up and snapped their fingers, golden light illuminating the five competitors. _“Aquarius, Aries, Libra, Yuki-onna of the Stars and The Starbringer!”_

Five women. Fuck his life. They all raised their hands in fists to the chanting crowd before moving to the L-coms set out for them. Each of them looked far more serious than he’d even seen his sister Emzadi while she was working. Headsets into place, lips curling into smirks as microphones came down and the huge Protection Screen flowed down into place. The roaring of the crowd…died down and then they heard voices.

 

 _“well, look who showed up, looks like you girls have some balls.”_ Well that was Sting.

 

A light laugh that held a lot of snark, _“aww, still have blue balls because you got dumped, I can’t wait to celebrate with my boyfriend.”_ Well that was Aquarius.

 

_“I don’t have blue balls!”_

_“I’m sorry…”_  a timid voice, but it held an edge of humor, _“but…I think you do. I’m sorry!”_

There was laughter, but the timid voice was from the woman called Aries.

 

 _“Ignore her!”_ A soft, but demanding voice came through the ‘line’.

 

 _“he’s right, don’t let them rile you.”_ Calm, steady, That was Laxus.

 

 _“kinda glad we didn’t hit him up for drinks, eh, Yuki.”_ The voice had a smirk it in, the dark skinned woman, possibly half Encan.

 

There was a light sigh, _“I guess so, Libra, but he may have been a good ride…”_

The crowd guffawed and even he had to wonder about it. Vander had warned him that some would happen before the game unlocked on the L-Coms.

 

_“Salamander, Black Steel, still fuck buddies?”_

_“Starbringer.”_

_“Bunny girl, still a fucking teasing cockblock?”_

_“every damn damn, guy don’t know how to treat a girl…my pussy is closed..not my fault you two don’t know how to do something as simple as meet a girl’s eyes, I know my tits look good, but they’re not my best feature.”_

A round of “oooh!”s at the insults before the screen changed and they all heard the connection between the two teams cut. Each team took drinks out of water bottles before obviously talking to their teams, strategy he guessed.  The lights went low, the glows from the keyboards and their matching mice all that illuminated the desks and the monitors flickered to give looks at the ten people’s faces. Swirls started with the characters being chosen…then the Countdown from ten. The crowd yelling along with the countdown and he felt tense. Two large enclosures came down on each team, soundproof and at White Seas’ insistence: bullet proof.

 

When the large ‘GO!’ appeared on the screen, then the entire arena heard the blended “radio chatter”

 

_“hit ‘em hard girls!”_

_“I’m going top!”_

_“I got Center!”_

_“fuckin’ show those boys who’s got balls, ladies!”_

The crowd was roaring, cheering for whichever team they wanted to win, which was, it appeared, fairly even. He heard the two groups snarling and then something in the air changed. The high pitched whine and then things exploded. Literally. The building rocked and dust flew before his team was moving, helping survivors and the game on the screen just…was left hanging.

 

Both teams were up and looking out, horror on their faces. It was the male team that had the door to their enclosure broken off first and then they were helping the female team that was struggling as another explosion ripped through the air. This was not how Kaleb was hoping it would go, and seeing part of the stage ripped up, he was moving. He nodded when he saw Vander and the two worked to get the females out of their now ‘prison’. There was coughing, screams of terror, pain, it all filled the air.

 

The group of ten was ushered away, even as the chaos continued.  It wasn’t ten minutes later that Farron called Kaleb, the group that they suspected went back to the Peregrande government claiming responsibility and that it was, at it’s very core, a hate crime against women. The five men seemed to be taking it well, if holding in their anger, but the women were quiet, four of them silently sitting together…while the little blonde was raging.

 

“Buzzard fucking, misogynist ass fuckers!”

 

He blinked at her words and while there was anger, it just seemed to build around her like an aura, the anger turning to malice and he cleared his throat. Though the outburst seemed to bring chuckles from the other nine, “You need to calm down…”

 

The blonde woman rounded on him and he started as she put a finger right up in his face, “no, you fucking don’t tell me what to do! All of us worked our fucking asses off, going for the last six months with blue balls, both proverbial or real just to fucking get this far! These stupid backwards ass cunts ruined all our work! All our training, everything! You don’t get to tell us to be calm!”

 

There were sighs and nods and Kaleb had to blink. How could anyone go without sexual release for so long? Then again, they’d been fairly snarky and thrown sexual insults around before the game began. “As head of security, I can…and while I understand you are upset…You need to calm down and let us take care of this.” The man had to take a step back as the malicious Aura around the blonde woman just exploded before she jumped him and kissed him in a ravenous way. He wasn’t sure about angry sex, but..hell if the spitfire kissed this well pissed, he’d like to see how she was when she was calm and writhing.


	72. Castle

White Sea had been contracted to take out a Dark Guild close to the Fiore Border. The castle was an odd touch, but nothing they couldn’t deal with. They’d gotten all the information they’d been given, compiled it and then moved out.

 

They’d been ready for every mage that the dark guild supposedly had. They weren’t prepared for eight dragons, a rather nasty wind spell covering an empty moat full of dark mages, nor the rather bored ninth mind inside.  The Fairy Tail flag on the flag pole was also not something they expected.

 

There was a yawn from the ramparts and then a head of blonde hair popped over the top. The woman gave a lazy wave, “oh, hey. Careful. Nasty enchantment. Got any unique magics, you’ll turn right into the namesake…” She waved a hand, “hence…thar be dragons.” She giggled a bit, it was a light sound.

 

“What about you?” Kaleb arched an eyebrow, watching the woman.

 

“I’m just bored, stuck here by the enchantment, but mostly bored....  I popped to the celestial realm for all of like…well an hour here before coming back,” She brought a hand to her mouth and yawned, “but…I’ve got dragons.”

 

She had dragons. Of course this Trouble Making Mage had dragons. “we’d like to round the dark guild up…then we’ll figure out this enchantment.”

 

“Okay, well, next time you swing by the castle, bring some chocolate? I kinda wiped the stock they had here out already,” She snorted, “and I literally can’t step out of the castle…” She waved a hand, “…and you know…Dragons can’t go get me chocolate.”


	73. Melody

With so many years honing his magic, he’d learned the melody of each soul around him.

 

Cristoff’s was calm and relaxed, reminded him of a classical song that just lulled you into relaxation. The song almost seemed to flow over those around him and the man could calm seemingly anyone with a small smile or sometimes just a hug or cuddle.

 

Emzadi’s was sad, beautiful, alluring, but so very sad, wistful and wanting. She could be smiling and flirting on the outside, but at her very baseness, she was yearning for more, sad that she’d yet to find that more.

 

Kaleb’s soul was always light, airy, but steady. He’d almost equate it to what sound light would make as it lit up rocks on a cliff in the morning. Even when at his most stressed, that beat never, ever wavered.

 

Bickslow was like a dark carnival. A little twisted, but all fun. It was the type of song that came out on Hallow’s Eve when people made the most out of the holiday of fright and lost souls.  Yet there was an undercurrent, an undercurrent of hope and love that soothed the fear, like a parent would soothe a child that had been scared to tears.

 

A Deep Bass always accompanied Vander’s song. It was playful, a little wicked, but smooth. Vander knew what he wanted, never stopped from taking it, within reason – which they’d yet to find that reason. For everything that the Shadowquip went through, the playful undertones brought forth a beautiful melody.

 

The sound of a sea melody always proceeded Xally, calming, yet fun, like the water itself. There was no way to miss her soul, always just a little bit of a sailor’s jig underneath it all.

 

His Father’s Soul was steady and soft. It always whispered to him of inner strength, courage and loyalty. Most of all, it was a song of love. Love for him, for his brothers, his sisters, for those close to him, those he wanted to help. It caressed him like one of the songs that he vaguely recalled his mother singing him to sleep with.


	74. Panic Switch

One moment, all was well, the next there was some sort of strange projection across the skies of the Earthland. Then a rather hefty amount of mages was in a blank room. All wearing white jump suits.

 

Kaleb, even without his mindbending magic, could feel the panic rising and it wouldn’t take much for the emotional flip to switch and people to start going into emotional meltdowns. He located Vander and Cris, but that seemed to be the only two that had come from White Sea and it took a moment of routing around, but he realized everyone present was mages…all one hundred people.

 

Vander slid up beside Kaleb, keeping his voice low, “everyone’s got a number on the back collar of these suits.”

 

“What do we have?” Kaleb scanned the ground, seeing a few of the mages raging and a few of the females actually huddling together and talking. The panic slowly seemed to be lessening.

 

“Ninety four, five and six, so…if number order is gone in…we’ll be some of the last to be taken…for whatever it is.”

 

He just barely saw one of the females, a young mage with white hair and…a feathered cape start to glow. He turned to look at what was going on, nodding his head.

 

“YUKI!” a blonde woman, wasn’t that the celestial mage from Fairy Tail? What was her name, Lucy.

 

He slowly started towards her, “everyone needs to stay calm. We don’t know what’s going…” He trailed off as the room semi darkened and what looked like video game came up.

 

The blonde murmured as she read the words on the Screen, “run for your life…” her head tilted to the side and everyone saw the woman that just disappeared on the screen and running. The camera moved swiftly and then there was a flash of steel and the woman fell to the ground, head separated from her throat.

 

Kaleb felt the fear, but it seemed that it was being kept down…until something clattered as if dropped to the floor. All eyes turned to the item, seeing a ring of keys, covered in blood. Another woman from across the room disappeared a call of ‘Princess!’ and they all looked to the screen, seeing a green haired woman, running…running tripping…and the same fate met. This time, a bloodied crown fell into the middle of the room and the barely held there minds of forty-eight female mages suddenly had that magical switch flipped and panic nearly overwhelmed him.


	75. Lost

Lucy looked from the map in her hands again, then around her. It took a moment, but then she let out a sigh as she hung her head. Nothing on the map was where she was. She took a few deep breaths and let them out.

 

She grumbled a bit as she continued on and then looked at the sheer cliff face she came to. It was an hour back  to the last place she could easily find another way and it was getting dark, “…Virgo..”

 

The woman smiled at the faint shimmer, “Punishment, Princess?”

 

“camp, then we’ll see…I’m getting the heebies.”

 

Virgo nodded at the words and then within moments, she’d found a small cave not too far away that had previously had no access. The Spirit simply drilled her way in, making sure the celestial mage would be able to easily walk through the entrance.

 

The blonde smiled as she slipped in, the camp already set up and she pulled out the map and a light pen. She sat there for a moment and mumbled, “dragon slayers going on rampages, cities are being destroyed…no one can calm them…”

 

She let out a soft sigh, “Yuki was the first to be…I don’t know..Caught…then they took over the castle…pretty sure Hisui’s not alive, but…I can’t prove it…”

 

The woman glanced towards the entrance, nostrils flaring a bit. Her senses were **not** as good as a dragon slayer, but being surrounded by so many had made her learn what scents belong in places and what don’t…and then she had her natural ‘trouble sense’ which was going nuts.

 

She pressed herself back when she saw two sets of glowing eyes in the darkness. One Orange, one Silver and she found that really…the cave was a bad idea. She was trapped…well it was a sound idea, maybe the way in so big was bad, but…she watched two massive figures, one male, one female slowly emerge into the dull camplight from her fire and her breath caught.

 

She saw the fangs, saw their bearings. Dragon Slayers. Fuck. Her. Life. She could also see the little bit of insanity that had swept into every dragon slayer she knew. She gave a small smile, reminding herself that she’d be fine…she hoped, until they spoke.

 

“Hey there Little red Riding hood…” The male voice almost lulled her into a state of relaxation, the soft bells of her own senses dulling as she swore a mist hung in the air.

 

The female grinned, “you sure are looking good…” oh, she had a nice voice too. She couldn’t hear the words as they continued, her words vaguely reminding her that it was a rather strange song, but she was simply being lost.

 

The two watched the woman slump forward and grinned before the woman picked her up, “let’s go.”

 

“They’ll try to come for her,” A large hand moved out, brushing back the bangs from the small blonde’s hair.

 

Emzadi smirked, fangs flashing, “Riding Hood’s ours now…she’ll look wonderful in the hoard.”

 

The two chuckled and Cristoff smirked, “She will, silver or gold?”

 

“both, but hush, get her keys,” Emzadi snorted as she waited for Cristoff and then the two were gone in a blink of silver.  They both knew the Fiore Dragon Slayers would soon come into their fold. While they’d been looking for mates, they’d overlooked the largest part of what they needed a Tatsu Queen. Their actions had scared possibilities away, and had driven one into their territory.

 

The twin slayers of the heavens knew this woman’s mind, she was a cunning strategist, even Kaleb remarked at a summit of the countries last year that her mind was always busy, always layered and while those she had been there with had just ignored her plans, he’d found them sound. The Fiore Slayers had Lost the Queen, they would take her and build a stable Tatsu…and perhaps, if the two felt benevolent, they’d allow the other’s to be enfolded..as soon as the queen found their mates.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Prompt was picked up and Expanded upon by Desna1
> 
> "Madness of the dragons" https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13049052/1/Madness-of-the-Dragons
> 
> This doesn't mean that others can't use it. Desna was just the first to pick it up. Each person can have their own take on what the story would be, how it would play out.


	76. bars

There were bars everywhere, though really, after she took the time, she realized she was in a hanging cage. It took a moment before she half tuned into a silky voice and leaned as much as she could to locate it.

 

“I know what you’re thinking. ‘Oh, no, Vander’s in a cage! How did this happen?!’ well, sometimes you have to get captured just to get a straight answer out of something. It’s a long story. Basically, I’m a bit of a hero. See, I’ve spent time in Bosco, for the record, I’ve saved Earthland a few times. Then I went searching for some keys that were supposedly powerful…” The man let out a dramatic sigh, “didn’t find any…Then I found a place full of Death and destruction…which led me all the way there to this cage…where I met you.”

 

She finally found the man and snorted as she saw another cage just below her, “you know…there’s a lot of really powerful Celestial Keys out there. Don’t be sad that you couldn’t find it…”

 

The man in the cage below her shifted “wait, there’s actually someone else here?”

 

Lucy let out a sound, “wait…who were you talking to?”

 

“Going to guess the last guy that pissed someone off and thrown into a Peregrandian Dungeon,” He snorted as he looked up, “Name’s Vander, by the way.”

 

“Yeah, I know your name…and Peregrande? Damn…I was in Bellum…wonder what got me…” The blonde hmmed to herself as she leaned against the bars of the cage.

 

Vander scowled a bit, brushing a bit of his red and black hair back out of his face, “you’re supposed to introduce yourself, you know!”

 

The blonde waved a hand, “Lucy, of Fairy Tail.”  She tuned the man out as she drummed a set of fingers on the bars of her cage. Peregrande **hated** women, they were worthless…that meant she was only here for some reason…but she needed to figure out the **why**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little Thor Ragnarok Nod with vander's monologue...Don't own that either...>.>


	77. Scythe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a bit of a continuation of Bars. A little bit of a Hercules (animated movie) nod....and I'm pretty sure the whole "wrong name to piss off the captor" thing has been done in quite a few movies

Eyes watched the scythe as it cut through the air, trying to recall exactly where he was. Then he let out a groan as he was slammed into and started swinging, “The hell?!”  
  
The red eyes snapped to the swinging gold blur before he heard a very childish “nyaaaaaaaaaaah!” from the blur. Where was he again? Oh, Right, hanging by his feet. The cages had been suddenly opened and that was hella disorienting.

 

He heard the woman squeak and chains rattle as blonde hair wisped through the air. He wasn’t sure who was talking but the command was clear “CHAIN THEM IN PLACE!”

 

Lucy hung there, blinking, “You fucking pussy licking bitch!” she grinned and cackled as she was secured in place, “Didn’t I tell you I wouldn’t get within five feet of you?”

 

“do you know who I am?” The man scowled at the woman, eyes narrowed.

 

Lucy grined, “wait! Wait! I know this! Nutsack!” her lips split into a wider grin as she tried to swing back and forth a bit, “no…that’s not it…I know it starts with an ‘N’ and you’re fucking obsessed with me. Have been since you killed your Mommy.”

 

The man let out a very slow burdened sigh as he crossed his arms on his chest, “I could tell you, you know?”

 

“nu-uh, matter of pride you see, I can remember minute details from Celestial contracts, this shouldn’t be hard…no bend? I mean…you walked in on me nude and I didn’t see any sort of bend there, just like this weird deformed rod sticking straight out…that’s gotta hurt.”

 

Vander couldn’t help but snicker, then went quiet as the scythe rested against his neck. Right that. They’d have to take care of that…

 

“numpty? Numbnuts? Oh, wait, aren’t you totally against guys? Was it No homo?” the woman’s lips were split in a grin as the man’s eye started to twitch, “nut hugger!”

 

“Nuyrev! My name is Nuyrev, you insufferable woman!”

 

The brown eyes blinked owlishly, “you sure? I could have sworn it wasn’t.”

 

“I know my own Name!”

 

“really? You’re getting really angry, normally people don’t think clearly when they’re angry.”

 

Vander just hung there watching the woman’s lips split in a shit eating grin. He himself was a little worried, but this woman just rattled off at the mouth. “might I sugg-“

 

“No,” The woman looked at him and blinked, “I may be a damsel…and I may be slightly in distress…but I’ve got this. You worry more about the Scythe about to take off your head.”


	78. Wall(s)

Everyone built walls outside of themselves, from houses to hallways to guilds and shops. These kept things in order and shop fronts separated Personal and Professional Feelings. These were the easy to see walls.

 

There were others though, that people built within themselves: in the mind and in the heart. Those were the ones that put more distance between a person and those around them. There were good ones, made to protect and bad ones, thick emotional walls that cut the person off from everything. He and his brother dealt with them in different ways, but despite the destructive power both of them had, at their core, their magics were made to **heal**.

 

Oh, Zen’s magic could be considered one to protect, but he protected the bodies, the realms, or would apparently. As it was, while they had wanted to send him to the Acadame Celestine his own magic had reacted to one of White Sea’s Celestial Mage had made them send him to Minstrel, for his own safety for learning.

 

After everything with Tataros, Bickslow brought those that he found that needed more than time to heal to his father’s home. It wasn’t many, Laxus, Freed, Evergreen and a little blonde named Lucy. They’d all heard about the woman, but the haunted look in her eyes simply took the openly warm and affectionate family back a bit.

 

“She’s got so many walls, I don’t know what to do, Bro,” Bickslow sighed as he sat with Kaleb, watching as the blonde woman sat at the edge of the beach with her feet in the Grass Sea.

 

The Mindbender frowned, “how in the world does one person make so many walls…”  
  
Laxus snorted, “A team that doesn’t listen on a good day, constantly being left behind, hurt by her own team…” the lightning slayer shrugged as he watched that little snowman thing that the woman **adamantly** said was a dog curl against the woman’s leg. “maybe if I hadn’t been so much of an asshole…”

 

Bickslow snorted softly, “Bossman, even when you’re being nice, you’re an asshole.” He grinned at the bulky slayer as he sipped his drink then sobered, “But her? She’s got enough walls around her **soul** that I don’t think we’d’ve caught what was going on if not for what happened with Tartaros, okay?”

 

“How bad is she, Bix?” gray-blue eyes slowly slid to the Seith.

 

Bickslow shrugged a bit, “you know how I say that there’s lost souls and then those that just don’t let go without help?”

 

“yeah, Lost souls get fucking violent and lash out, normally you gotta destroy…” Laxus shook his head, “no, you’re kidding Bix.”

 

The Seith snorted, “if she kicked it…” He held up a hand, “theoretically, I don’t want her to die, fuck…but…if she did…with her magic…there wouldn’t be one soul there. There’s at least two of her spirits bound to her soul. It’d be a Cluster and if not soothed fast? Probably end up like…dragon slayer levels of powerful as a Lost Soul.”

 

Kaleb let out a hum, “So…Tear down the walls that don’t need to be there…”

 

Bickslow grinned, “and then build up healthy ones…that’s the plan now that Cris got rid of that stupid poison in us…”

 

“…why do I get this feeling that I’m about to have a Vander’s trying to cause an international incident level of exasperation come up?” Kaleb eyed Bickslow warily.

 

The Seith smirked as he finished his drink, “probably, because I’m going to drag Van into this.”

 

“Keep him the fuck away from Blondie,” Laxus growled, “she doesn’t need his type of he-“ They all turned as the woman let out a squeal and saw shadows where she was. The lightning slayer letting out a roar, “VANDER!!!!!!!!!!”


	79. Disappear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a foray into really using Hestor as a character.
> 
> I've helped develop him a lot since then and I'm glad I've taken him from...where he is in this prompt, to what has become the Hestor so many know and like.

She didn’t like Hestor, with a burning passion; she’d almost call it hate if she could muster ‘hate’ like most people. It was hard for her to truly hate someone, but the other celestial mage was slowly inching into that Hate area that was reserved for only a select few so far.  The fact that he’d been so damn stupid and gotten both of them captured in Stella by some Joyan slave traders? Yeah, he was slowly starting to get into the “hate” part of her very light and very forgiving heart.

 

They’d heard the slavers talk about him being a pleasure slave to some Joyan Warqueen and she could care less, if she was honest. In Fact, she hoped he would disappear into Joya and never be heard from again. She’d heard all about what his black heart had done to Zen.

 

The woman let out a sigh, Zen was a sweet man, a bit messed up because of how he lived his life, but he was **sweet** , to levels that when his eyes danced and small laugh lines appeared at their corners despite only a small upturn of his lips, everything dark seemed to disappear around him. He had a wicked sense of humor too, on par with Vander and listening to the two talk about sex was actually a riot for her some days and it helped with her own healing heart. She’d been scared of getting to know him, getting close to him when she’d learned about his magic, but according to Bix, her magic and soul had curled around Zen’s forming a protective barrier. They still had to be careful, but the pull there was lessened, she was, unfortunately, not his mate. The Seith had said it was like they were two halves of the same being, twin souls there to support one another; she’d pouted because damn if he wouldn’t have been a perfect first time for her.

 

She was currently sighing as the other Celestial mage was **bitching** about what he’d gotten them into. He had a panicked tone to his voice and she was really wondering if no other Celestial mage save her had been kidnapped or put in stupid situations so often. It made sense though; even Yukino had freaked out when she’d been kidnapped. Lucy was just so **over** being kidnapped. She knew she was powerful; she could trace her bloodline and magic back over four hundred years while there seemed to be no other line like hers. Many of the current Celestial Mages simply had a drawing to it, not the natural ability to grow exponentially like she did.

 

“oh for the love of the stars!” She snapped at the silver-blond haired male, “SHUT UP! Stop acting like a fucking damsel in distress and use your stars damned mind! You’re a Celestial mage! There are like ten of us left with any aptitude and you’re giving us all a bad name with how you’re acting!”

 

The man blinked owlishly at her and went quiet before nodding mutely. Lucy let out a sigh. Finally, peace and quiet to think of a plan! She shifted in her cage and looked around for a moment; this was a ‘small’ shipment of around fifty men…and then her. She still had no idea why she was there. The lack of keys being taken was nice, but…with the magic canceling bracelet she wore, her keys were pretty much unable to be touched, for who knows how long.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

 

The whining had gone up when the ship landed and she snorted, watching the boscan Celestial mage being drug off while she was taken down another hallway. She was cleaned and dressed in a very interesting set of clothes. The wrap around her hips was loose and easy to move in and the wrap top kept her breasts in place, she’d bounced up and down a few times to see if she’d pop out and was pleasantly surprised that she didn’t.

 

Being lead to what she could only call an audience chamber, she arched an eyebrow as she saw Kurino and a woman with pale silver hair, she was sure at least part of it was gray, while the rest was a silver, almost blonde color. Oh wonderful, the crack pot crown princess, just what she wanted to deal with.

 

The blonde decided to ignore her for the moment, mind already spinning plans upon plans. She bowed her head to what she assumed was a WarQueen, “…may I enquire as to why I’m here?” that was when she caught the earring the woman wore…it was a key, a celestial key.

 

“Per the ancient traditions, I challenge you to a battle.”

 

Ah, that was it; why couldn’t celestial mages like this just disappear? They were as bad as whiney ones like Hestor.

 

_“Lucy.”_

 

She didn’t jump, but the mental voice was nice and she tilted her head as she looked at the woman, “I am capable of actually refusing such a duel.”

 

_“can’t talk much. In Joya, with a woman attempting to bait me into a duel for my keys.”_

_“…Joya…where is Hestor. You two were on a job together.”_

_“Pretty sure they tossed him to the slave conditioners.”_

“perhaps,” The woman held up a key that shimmered blue and Lucy’s eyes snapped to it, watching as she held both ends, “but I will break one key per refusal. These are one of kind keys, mythril.”

 

_“…we’ve got a team on the way. They should be there in fifteen”_

_“Okay, give me a little bit though, I have to kick a bitch’s ass.”_

_“Lucy, don’t do anything stupid.”_

The blonde smiled as she stood there, “I see…then you’ve left me no choice. However…” she held up her wrist, “this needs to be gone.”

 

A guard moved over and then slowly undid the cuff, letting it fall to the floor and lucy felt her magic surge in her and smirked when Kurino took a step back.

 

The warqueen’s eyes just danced, “so powerful…Join me instead.”

 

“no,” Lucy’s eyes narrowed a bit, already focusing and planning. She didn’t know what keys the woman had, but this was not going to be easy, she knew the mannerisms of a weapon master, she had been around Erza enough to know them.

 

“I beat you, you become my right hand…and I will only take half your keys.”

 

“I beat **you** ,” Lucy sneered, “I get all your keys and you keep your slave traders out of Stella and Bosco.”

 

“As you wish. Duel contract stated, terms negotiated. Let us begin.”

 

Lucy barely shifted in time as the woman launched herself off the throne, the women around the room forming a sort of ring. The sword swinging and coming down put her on the defensive near immediately, but that was fine, she knew how to dodge big powerful Pradesh guys, and this woman was on par with them.

 

The Shadows in the upper part of the chamber swirled and a group emerged, all of them looking down at the fight. Vander quirked an eyebrow, speaking softly, “Damn…”

 

Lucy was twisting and leaping, making sure to stay out of the way of the blade as she summoned her whip, the blue and yellow length springing to life as she held onto it, the woman’s sword causing sparks to fly as it hit.

 

“we should help her…” Cris watched, brow furrowing.

 

 _“no”_ Kaleb shook his head _“Celestial Duels. We get involved it’s a forfeit for whoever we’re allied to. Let’s go clear out the place, come back. Everyone in position?”_

There were nods before the group turned and Kaleb looked at Vander, “just watch. Do not get involved.” Then in a blink of silver, they were gone and within a few moments, explosions of magic rocked the area. The master of white sea hated Joya, they’d wanted him forever, especially this warqueen. He wanted to wipe all of this off the map…and well, kidnapping one of his own and then a visiting Fiorian Mage in another country…had created an uproar.

 

He watched as dragon slayer magic just tore across the city, unbidden. The Fiorian Guilds really needed to teach their Slayers restraint. Laxus was precise in his magic due to his time with Nurem, Cris and Emi, but the rest…were wild and untamed, Natsu almost Feral in a fight. Kaleb coordinated everything from the ground as he himself took to the streets of the Joyan City. They wanted him to breed? They wanted him in Joya? He’d show his utter displeasure at having to come to Joya.

 

All of the mages could still feel the fight going on in that main audience chamber and slowly it became more of a crowd. They watched as Lucy was wearing some sort of Encan outfit, swirling in the air and then came down, her heel hitting the floor and sending a shockwave to throw the warqueen off her feet.

 

Before the woman could struggle to her feet, Lucy had again ‘changed clothes’ and had two blades that looked very much like a disassembled pair of scissors on either side of the woman’s neck, “Move and you permanently disappear.”

 

When the woman surged forward, the blonde woman looked away and spun, listening to the sickening thud and feeling the blood on her skin. She sniffed a bit as she picked up the keys that had fallen out of requip space, and then walked to the head of the woman. Lucy’s nose curled up and then she ripped the earring the woman wore away from her head and spit on the ground, “twisted bitch.”

 

The Joyans around the room watched the blonde and she sneered, “out of my sight! Disappear! Or you’re next!” one of the blades however slammed into Kurino’s shoulder, slamming the dark haired woman into the wall, “and you’re going right back to Bosco..”

 

Kaleb smirked, “I’m fairly sure the king will love to hear about this.”


	80. Magic

Magic was powerful, but sometimes, the most powerful spells were ones that didn’t seem like magic at all. The Pradesh boys had decided to visit Bickslow for the week of the Seith’s birthday. Farron would be there closer to it and, the other’s hoped, with good news of the kill order for their brother.

 

They were all settled and then they heard a conversation and looked towards the two women at the bar.

 

“I don’t see why you don’t go on missions on your own, your capable,” Mira frowned as she wiped down a glass.

 

Lucy sighed, “I can’t.”

 

“can’t or won’t?” The take over mage gave the other woman an arched eyebrow.

 

Lucy rolled her eyes as she sipped her smoothie, “okay, you know about my magic, right?”

 

Mira nodded as she picked up another glass to wipe off, “yes…well not some of the minor nuances, but we’ve studied up since you came to Fairy Tail.”  
  
Kaleb couldn’t help but listen into the blonde woman’s active mind as she went through a dozen different ways to explain what she wanted to say and gauged it against what she knew of Mira. He arched an eyebrow and wondered if she realized there were others listening…and then her mind switched over to a new line of thought as he watched her eyes dart slightly. He knew she’d seen a few people closer to them watching…her mind was brilliant.

 

“alright, so…” Lucy took a breath, “My magic is based in contracts to the spirits…but that also extends to every day life. For Example…let’s say…” she waved a hand, “one of Bixy’s brothers asks for a night..but they don’t specify what night, because…reasons.”

 

Mira arched an eyebrow, “they’d typically mean right then or that night.”

 

“yes, but…that’s an expected time frame, not the actual one..” Lucy smiled as Mira blinked and a look of realization came on her features, “So…they ask, then something happens…and let’s say…they get pulled away on business for their guild and we don’t really see each other for years….and Let’s say…I get married.”

 

Mira squealed, “oh, to who! Help me out here!”

 

Lucy snapped, “Mira. Focus.” When the woman calmed she let out a sigh, “So…marriage means I’m supposed to be faithful. Boscans respect that, but let’s say we’re all goofing around, having fun and whichever one it is…remembers that he asked but we never did and wishes that we had, joking that we should that night.”

 

Mira nodded, “we’d laugh it off and keep going.”

 

“you would. I can’t. It was an open ended promise and agreement. A verbal contact,” Lucy watched as Mira’s eyes went wide, “married or not, it was a contact before the one that marriage is. Outstanding and in need of being fulfilled….and if I don’t…I lose my keys, my magic.”

 

Mira frowned, “So what does this have to do with jobs?”

 

Lucy sighed as she sipped her drink again, “I promised natsu I’d always be his partner…” she stirred her drink, “and partners rarely do anything without one another…so…I see a job I want…I ask him if he wants to do it…he says no…”

 

“you have to not do it,” Mira frowned a bit, “did you expect this to happen?”

 

The blonde woman shook her head, “not really, I mean…I expected him to at least…want to do jobs I wanted to do from time to time…so I could get more keys…become stronger…” she sighed.

 

“can you…get out of this, because you seriously can’t continue this. You can barely make rent most months…” Mira wasn’t going to get into the woman and food. She’d started a tab so that the smaller woman could actually pay it off bit by bit when she had the extra jewel.

 

Lucy gave a sad smile, “I can’t break my promise, Natsu has to say it.” She slowly finished her drink, “I’m going home, Mira…the team wants to take a mission and we leave tomorrow morning.”

 

Kaleb frowned as he watched the blonde go, “…I didn’t realize that contracts could be so…harsh.”

 

Vander scowled, “or that someone could take advantage of someone so much…”

 

Cristoff sat there, “he’s either very stupid…”

 

“He’s stupid,” Laxus said, “and impulsive and aggravating…”

 

The Lunar slayer arched an eyebrow, “or cunningly hiding it beneath that mask. Dragons hoard things, Laxus…if you could get some one at your beck and call without them being your mate…would you?”

 

The Lightning slayer shifted uncomfortably, “…at one point…yeah…I would have.”

 

Cris nodded towards the door, “That’s what he did with her…and she’s helpless..he gets a mate? I’d almost wager Lucy becomes a consort.”


	81. Hesitation

The small group of mages were standing in a magical elevator, Erza looking out the window and cleaning her nails; Cristoff was looking confused at the conversation, Vander tilting his head and Natsu and Lucy were arguing.

 

“we should do ‘get help’.”

 

  
Lucy made a face, opening her mouth and then closing it. She hesitated and then shook her head, “What?”  


“..you know, ‘Get Help’.”

 

Vander Blinked, “what’s get help?”

 

Lucy scowled, “no.”

 

“come on, Luce, you love it.”

 

The blonde’s brow twitched, “I hate it.”

 

“it’s great! It works every time!”

 

Lucy slowly drug a hand down her face, groaning, “it’s humiliating…why don’t you do it with Erza.”

 

“Not doing it,” The redhead said as she cleaned under another one of her nails.

 

“it has to be you, do you have a better plan?”

 

The woman opened her mouth, “Ye…no, not yet, I don’t know what we’re going to be up against to really have a good plan.”

 

Natsu nodded, “Okay, then we’re doing it.”

 

Lucy groaned, head falling back “we’re not going ‘Get Help’, Natsu, I refuse.”

 

Vander came between them, “before you two decide…what is Get help?”

 

Lucy looked at the Pradesh and snorted, “I pretend to be hurt…he drags me out, yelling about how I need help…”

 

Natsu grinned, “and then I throw her into people.”

 

“It fucking hurts, Natsu…I’m not doing it!”

 

“we’re doing Get Help,” Natsu said, crossing his arms on his chest.

 

Vander looked at Cris, “we could do this Get Help…”

 

Cristoff looked between the small woman and the fire slayer as they continued to bicker and nodded, “we should, maybe not bring out this Scary Lucy we hear about from Bix, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't Own Thor Ragnarok...XD


	82. Challenge

“okay, so…” Lucy said as she brandished a make up brush, Vander attempting to swat her away.

 

“why are you putting make up on me?!” Vander hissed as he was swatted back and the woman went back to work, “and what’s with your outfit?”

 

“you have to look hurt…and this is Cancer’s stardress. He does all the make up for Get Help,” The woman looked at him for a moment and then moved to pick up a small sponge, tapping it down the side of his face and then licking her finger. She gently ran it through the red goo that she’d placed and then nodded, “it makes it more believable…”

 

“why am I the one that’s getting thrown?” Vander huffed.

 

Lucy shrugged, “you two said you wanted to do Get Help…”

 

Natsu grinned, “Smaller person gets thrown, simple as that.”

 

Cristoff shook his head, “the fact that you have this so well done for hating it…”

 

Lucy looked over her shoulder at Cristoff and pointed a make up brush at him, “I hate it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want it to look right.” She huffed and then went back to vander. She tilted her head and tapped his side, “Hole here please. Make it ragged.” She eyed the slit that appeared and then crouched, starting to work.  
  
”…while you’re down there….” Vander smirked and then grunted as the small woman punched his leg almost a bit too high, “…nevermind.”

 

“So, let me get this straight, me, a double s class centur-“

 

Lucy looked up at Cristoff, “you’re taller, you’re probably a bit stronger, that’s why it works that way…” she drummed her fingers “we may have like a fake magic canceling bracelet around…” she waved a hand, “anyway, it’s impact, but yeah…”

 

Cristoff wasn’t sure how this was going to work, but by the time the elevator finally got all the way to the top and was ready to open, the Fairy Tail mages were on either side of the door, Vander was half slung over his shoulder, they both looked like they’d been put through the ringer and he had what looked like a magic canceling device on.

 

The burly slayer took a breath as the doors opened and started to limp out, “Help! Help! My brother’s hurt and he needs medical attention!”

 

When the guards rushed at him, he waited and then mumbled a soft ‘sorry’ to vander before hefting the shadowquip up and throwing him. He winced as Vander groaned and rolled to his feet, “you alright?”

 

“that fucking hurt…” Vander shifted, “fuck.”

 

Natsu grinned, “Works every time!”

 

Lucy mumbled, “Still humiliating.”

 

The two White sea mages watched as the three moved out of the elevator and the blonde grabbed one of the magical guns, giggling almost insanely before the three bounced forward, right into a well protected area.

 

“…Bix is right…they’re all a little…crazy,” Vander watched the destruction ahead of them, including the blonde that was cackling and shooting the gun.

 

“…kinda sexy…” Cristoff tilted his head.

 

Vander gave a small nod, “mmhmm…”


	83. Pumpkin

It was Movie Night. Popcorn was being made, snacks set out and then blankets and pillows strung out. For the group of college students, this was a must. With PhDs, MDs and all the other degrees being worked on, the monthly Movie marathon was needed.

 

“Hey, did anyone get the vodka!?” a woman with brown hair spoke as she started pulling bottles out of brown bags and setting them on the table.

 

“we got a few different ones,” a man with raven colored hair spoke, pulling his hair back into a low tail.

 

“what about the crown?”

 

There was a gag, “Gross, was it at least apple crown?”

 

“Got both,” came a lazy drawl from the couch.

 

“What about ice?”

 

“She-thor’s on her way with it, she’ll be here in ten!”

 

“enough time to get the popcorn done, good.”

 

“you making caramel this time?”

 

There was a light laugh, “mmm! I made divinity fudge earlier!”

 

Lucy blinked as the kitchen door was suddenly filled with the start of the gathering and kept stirring the caramel she was making, “you’ll have to wait.”

 

A man with red highlighted black hair and that lazy drawl spoke, “but…but Divinity Fudge…”

 

The brunette grumbled, “well if people wouldn’t have made a mess last month, we’d still be allowed into the kitchen to get it…”

 

The blonde made a shooing motion, “just wait, going to take another five minutes to get the caramel corn done.”

 

The group groaned and then moved back to finding their spots in the mostly empty living room. Lucy called out, “stop. It’s one night a month, you guys can relax.”

 

When the last two people showed up, drinks were taken care of and handed out, then the fudge brought out as well as the caramel corn.  The woman didn’t say anything as she nibbled on the sweet treats, but a few people made odd faces at the fudge.

 

“hey, Lu…this fudge is…um…” The brunette smiled a bit, “um…different.”

 

“Oh, I made pumpkin flavored. It’s Halloween afterall.”


	84. Merriment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what happens when I watch a PotC movie lol

Zen looked at his brothers as they slowly walked down the street of the town they’d just set down for port in. it was untamed and wild and he wasn’t sure that the first thing he wanted to do now that he was out of Peregrande was come to this strange island…full of Pirates.

 

Vander grinned, brushing back a bit of his hair, “Relax, bro, this is a great place to unwind. Almost as good as back in Bosco.” He held an arm out, stopping his brother and watching as a body came flying from the balcony of a nearby building and slammed in front of the group of Five.

 

There was laughter from the building and then a yell of “that’s a real man!” followed by more laughter. Zen gave his brother a flat look, “…really?”  
  
Kaleb chuckled as he stepped over the pink haired man, “Really, come on. We’re going to the Honey Bone. It’s a nice Inn.”

 

Cristoff chuckled a bit, “it’s nice? Or the men and women there are nice?” he grinned and nudged his brother.

 

Farron rolled his eyes a bit, adjusting his jacket, “we all know it’s all of the above, don’t we?”

 

The Honey Bone Inn was settled back a bit off the main street and for that Zen was glad, but he had plenty of questions. Like why his Brothers, well respected men in the Boscan Navy had, after rescuing him, had taken him to a _Pirate Haven_ of all things.

 

“Welcome to the Honey bone!” Came a chipper voice and he looked at the white haired woman, it took him a moment to realize that she was young and her hair was simply a different color.

 

“Mira,” Kaleb grinned as he stepped up to the woman, giving her a light kiss, “how’s our favorite bar maid?”

 

Mira rolled her eyes, gently patting the large man on the arm, “the charmer as always Captain. How many for tonight and will you want friends for the evening?”

 

Kaleb let out a laugh, “rooms for five, and who is around?”

 

The woman shrugged a bit, “Quite a few-“ She paused as the door was swung open again, “and it’s a good thing you came in, looks like we’re all full up now. Lucy, how is it going?”

 

Zen turned and looked at the new entrance; she had a gaggle of people behind her, including one man carrying the pink haired male they’d stepped over.

 

The woman grinned broadly, “as well as a female on the seas can be, Mira!” She laughed as she moved over, smacking each brother on the ass before hopping onto the bar. She spun in place and put her arms between the leather clad legs and grinned, “get the boys some fun, yeah? I’m gonna go down for my normal fun and games.” She winked.  
  
Mira rolled her eyes and pat the woman’s cheek gently, “yes yes, be good, Lucy, don’t kill too many, and now many to a room?”

 

The blonde smirked, “Four, should give you a few extras, right?”

 

Mira let out a whistle, “wow…they’ve pissed you off, haven’t they?”  
  
The blonde woman shrugged and then picked up a bottle from behind the bar before rolling backwards off it and landing on her feet. She took a sip from the bottle and held it up before she turned and looked at the five, “Have a good one, boys.”   
  
Zen blinked as he watched her sashay out of the door, “…that’s…a pirate?”  
  
Mira smiled, “my former first In command.”

 

Zen blinked owlishly and turned “what….”

 


	85. Courage

There were many things that took courage. Talking to someone new, sparring with someone that you knew was stronger than you are. However, The Pradesh siblings had found something that took much more courage than that: Playing Cards Against Humanity with the members of Fairy Tail.

 

“ok! Okay! Everyone calm down!” Lucy held up her hands and grinned, “we ready for the last round of the night?!”

 

Never mind that everyone had been drinking a little bit, it was still horror filled for the men, not even understanding half of what the results were. Kaleb and Farron hadn’t won any black cards, even though they had tried chosing logical answers. Zen had given up and was nursing a beer trying to wrap his mind around the game, Cristoff was confused but attempting to keep himself in the game and understand, Bickslow wasn’t having any issues, obviously…and Vander…was fitting right in, which scared the living shit out of his brothers.  
  
Lucy took a breath and smirked as she held up a small sand timer, “are we ready?”

 

The cheers from the group was deafening as she nodded and a black card was flipped, the woman putting the timer down to let the sand start, “Eluris Suit: 100,000 jewel. Dinner for two at that swanky restaurant: 30,000 Jewel, The look on her face when you surprise her with Blank: Priceless! GO!”

 

There was laughter as cards were tossed face down and the blonde woman put back another shot of tequila. She grinned broadly and bounced, watching the timer and then cackling as she shuffled the pile of cards as soon as the sand was gone.

 

“the look on her face when…..The amount of baby carrots I can fit up my ass: Priceless!” The table roared with laugher as the blonde shook her head with a grin and flipped another card, “okay, okay, The look on her face wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen: The big truck goes ‘toot! Toot!’.”

 

The table dissolved into laughter and Lucy half bent over, gasping for a few moments before shaking her head, “The look on her face when…..snorting cr…” The blonde snorted in laughter, “crack off a clown’s boner…” she snickered and scrunched her face up to hold in her laughter, then wiped her face.

 

“The look on her face when….Dem Titties…” she snorted back more laughter, shaking her head as the laughter continued around her, taking deep breaths.

 

The blonde woman let her head fall back as she tried to keep her composure, “The look on her face when…” she chortled, “Graphic Violence, adult language and some sexual content…”

 

“on her face when…Maximal Insertion..” The women laughed as Lucy tried to regain herself, taking deep breaths, “okay, okay…a few more…just a few more cards…”

 

She wiped her face, “the look on her face when…blowjobs for everyone.” There was more laughter and she held up a hand.

 

“the look on her face when…slowly easing down on a cucumber…” The blonde woman started laughing and fell off her seat, tapping the table as if she were tapping out.

 

Vander smirked, “and…that’s mine!”

 

Cana cackled, “you’ve got the knack…” She looked under the table, snickering, “and I think we’ve lost Lu to laughter.”


	86. Rising

Emzadi and Kaleb rose with the sun, taking in the pure light and heat that was the morning sunlight. Though, truthfully, Emzadi was more like a lazy housecat, or house dragon if one wanted to get technical, about it.  

 

The Solar Dragon slayer woke just as the first light came across the horizon and then stretched on her bed, yawning and letting out a low hum before she would move to a plush rug settled on her balcony. She’d stretch out, letting out a soft sigh and letting the sun curl over her sun kissed skin in all its glory.

 

Kaleb would settle on his balcony, starting his work day with a cup of coffee and relaxing as the sun dwellers of Earthland came into awareness. He could watch the early morning Guild members start their exercises and spars.

 

Cristoff and Vander tended to rise with the moon; the cool serenity of the dusk and darker hours bringing them complete harmony with their magic.

 

Moon bathing, especially near the full moon boosted the dragon slayer, letting him feel closer to not only his magic and the source of his magic, but to his Dragon Parent, Nurem.

 

Vander didn’t mind the day, the sun did help his mood, but night time was known for, in many countries, the time of passion. With the shadows at his command, he was a fearsome man, the voids that came against his soul and mind making it even harder, but while the sunlight and moonlight both created shadows, the sun created harsh ones, like what he struggled with. The Soft moonlight often bathed the world in a silvery glow, taking the sharp edges off the shadows, it was like a balm against his soul.

 

Bickslow found a kindred soul in the love of dusk and dawn in Lucy. The woman had helped him many times, near shoving him into Cobra, his soul mate and dragon mate. She always smiled, but it was those times where it wasn’t day and wasn’t night that the two found peace. It was a time of semi-light, the time of spirits, both ones that the seith could influence and when the power of Celestial Spirits was just strong enough to be shown, but not enough to be sensed by Evil.  These times were perfect for the two to meditate and Cobra…couldn’t deny how beautiful the symphony of their souls was during this time.

 

He could hear each pair; Kaleb’s and Emzadi’s souls sang of responsibility, the sun was, after all, a powerful thing, one that needed to be respected to be used.  Vander’s and Cristoff’s were the soft, soothing songs of lovers and someone that you knew you could trust with anything. Bickslow and Lucy however, in those strange in between hours that were so few each day?

 

It was the beautiful sound of rebirth, of understanding, of a pure love for life. The song encouraged one to forgive, to grow past mistakes, to truly heal. It had become Cobra’s favorite thing to listen to.

 

The dragonslayer let out a low sound until he caught the scent of the person that was walking up on the two meditating mages. He looked up at the Ambassador and arched an eyebrow, taking in the baby blue eyes, “what?”

 

“…your soul wasn’t cranky until you heard me,” Farron smirked and sipped his coffee, watching the meditating mages as magic orbs curled around them, as if they were dancing sprites or souls. He assumed they’d started sitting, but their forms were floating, the magic slowly moving the hanging bodies in an intricate dance almost.

 

“shh, you’re going to interrupt them,” Cobra made a face and then looked at the offered coffee. The cantankerous slayer took it and slowly sipped it, watching the two mages. His eye closed and then he let out a sigh as he simply listened, feeling the rising emotions of joy as two types of magic that were so close and so rare resonated clearing in a rising song of ‘Freedom’.


	87. Faerie

Vander Pradesh was a well decorated spy, his work for the Steel Council and Crown of Bosco was not known by the public, but he did everything he could for his country. He and his brothers were currently moving towards the Peregrande border to make sure all was well.

 

It was, however, dusk and he watched as the fireflies slowly meandered into the darkening sky. A small squeak and a yawn however caught his ear and he stood, slowly moving towards where he thought he heard it.

 

_“Morning, Lu.”_

_“mm, morning-“ There was another squeak of a yawn, “cana.”_

_“Haha, that’s what you get for staying up so much!”_

The voices were soft, gentle and he carefully moved around a tree and he paused when he saw something shimmer. He took his magic and went ‘to ground’ before sliding through some sort of barrier undetected and then slid up the shadows of a tree. He almost fell out of it as he saw women near a pool of clear water that he swore was not on their map.

 

They were laid out across rocks, in the water and floating lily pads that were probably no more than a foot across, each small woman having a set of ethereal wings flickering behind her.  The wings were as different as each woman and he watched them.

 

 _“mmm, sorry, there was a passing group of soldiers..”_ The small blonde stretched on the leaf that she was stretched on and slid off, wings moving and she smiled, _“they should be out of the forrest by tomorrow afternoon.”_

_“ugh, humans. Barbaric.”_

The blonde shook her head, _“They just don’t understand.”_ She carefully ‘danced’ across the water, shimmering gold left in her wake, _“They’ll learn…”_

_“You’ve said that for centuries, Lu.”_ The little brunette scowled, _“and they’ve been encroaching. A lot of us are leaving with Titania in a few hours…”_

_“I won’t go,”_ The little blond smiled, _“this forest is my home..”_

_“You’re going to get captured and sold! You need to come with us,”_ The brunette pleaded, _“please, Lu…”_

He watched as quite a few of the group there tried to convince the little blonde, but she kept shaking her head. When he felt magic, he watched as a woman almost as tall as he was, with long flowing red hair seemed to appear inside a ring of mushrooms. A…Fairy ring and he felt dread. Had he come across actual Fairies?

 

“Come, little ones…it is time,” The redhead smiled as all but the one flew around her, “…Lucy?”

 

The little blonde shook her head, _“I’m not going. I’ve refused for all this time…”_

“I wish you would reconsider…” The woman smiled sadly, “But…I know you won’t. stubborn, that’s what you are.”

 

The small blonde shrugged a bit, _“I’ll be fine, really.”_ She sat on a leaf as the group disappeared.

 

Vander frowned a bit. What could make this one little creature stay there. He started when he heard stumbling and then watched as his brother Kaleb came into the clearing.

 

The small blonde and his brother looked at one another and it was Kaleb that spoke, “…hello.”

 

The small creature just tilted her head, non-pulsed at her lack of clothing, _“hello.”_

“well, I guess that answers Laxus’ question…” Kaleb blinked a few times.

 

_“question?”_

“Do Faeries have Tails.”

 

The small creature let out a bell like laugh and shook her head, _“no…that’s imps.”_


	88. Battle

There were always fights, always just around the corner and one never knew when they were coming. As a Guild Master, Kaleb Pradesh knew that it was quite possible to never be fully prepared, but that didn’t meant he wasn’t going to try to be as prepared as he could for any situation; Thane also helped, the man was amazing and very good at anticipating things.

 

A dragon slayer versus anyone was always a very real possibility; however, a Five foot barely three blonde woman poking a very tense Laxus in the chest was not something he was prepared for, especially when said blonde was defending Vander of all people.

 

“now you listen here, _Sparks-a-lot_ ,” Lucy stared down the blond slayer, glowering as her finger poked his chest a few more times, “I don’t care **what** you think about someone, If I want to get to know them, I will…”  
  
”Blondie…” Laxus scowled then his eyes narrowed on the Shadowquip, “I’m trying to prot-“

 

The small woman gave a feral growl, “Go ahead, finish that statement, **_big brother_**.”

 

Laxus opened his mouth and shut it, letting out a low whine and Kaleb blinked as he even sensed the burly man’s inner dragon almost roll over and show it’s belly to the small woman, “I’m just…”

 

“You’re just what,” The blonde poked his chest again, another growl curling through her lips, the sound turning into a deadly snarl of warning.

 

Laxus let out a faint sigh, “…protective?”

 

Lucy let out a snort and turned, flipping her hair over her shoulder, “I’m a big girl.”

 

Vander grinned and winked at the slayer before the two disappeared in a swirl of shadows.

 

Laxus ran a hand down his face and mumbled, “you’re a trouble magnet, Blondie…and Vander’s some of the biggest trouble I know…”

 

Kaleb frowned, that was such an odd statement, but it seemed the tenseness from the impromptu Dragon and Kin Fight was gone. Now he had to figure out exactly what that meant without setting off the Fairy Tail members as he poked about in their heads…and for people that didn’t deal with any sort of mind mage very often, they had amazing defenses.


	89. Purple

There were plenty of arguments over the Color of the Night Sky, especially when you got more than two mages with Magic tied to the celestial body together and into a heated discussion.

 

Jellal rolled his eyes as he stood there, “it’s not black, it’s a dark navy.”  
  
”oh, please, blueberry balls,” Lucy put a hand on her hip and wagged a finger at the Heavenly body mage.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Little miss Sunshine are you saying that you have a better color?”

 

“Anything but blue!” the blonde sneered and then pointed to the Lunar Dragon Slayer, “Alright, Cris, dear, sweet, lovely dragon slayer after my heart…”

 

Cristoff was used to sitting in on these gatherings, but he truly didn’t care much for getting drug into the arguments. He took a breath, “The same color as Nurem’s scales.”

 

The group of mages blinked slowly as one and they stared and watched the slayer go back to his drink, signifying he wasn’t going to explain any more. Yukino was the first to throw her hands in the air, followed by Jellal and then Lucy.

 

 

Zen blinked as he sat there, leaning over and speaking to Cris as the three went at each other again, “…are they…sane?”

 

Cris mumbled softly, “I’m fairly certain no mage with any sort of ties to the sky is sane. Myself and Emi encluded.”

 

Emzadi stood and then her hand went out, the woman putting it over Jellal’s face, shutting the man up, “The night sky is obviously somewhere between Cris’ hair and Zen’s wings.”

 

Lucy frowned a bit, “I don’t think I’ve seen Zen’s wings, but Cris’ hair does have a nice multifaceted look to it…”

 

Yukino gave a firm nod, “It does, there’s deep blues and if the light catches it just right you can see the most remarkable violets as well.”

 

“his eyes too…” Lucy looked at Yukino, both women tapping fingers to their lips as they thought.

 

Zen spoke softly, “they’re frightening…”

 

Yukino pursed her lips, “Don’t you have a set of lingerie from Virgo that’s that color?”

 

Lucy’s face turned bright red, “…maybe…”

 

The white haired Celestial mage grinned, even as Emzadi turned her head, interest piqued, “didn’t you gush over them this morning?”

 

Lucy let out a squeak before she suddenly turned and tried to tear off towards the door.

 

“GET HER!” Yukino let out a laugh and while she was going for the other Mage, Emzadi was there first and she stopped in her tracks, watching clothes fly and she moved to catch them, “…she didn’t even tear buttons or zippers…amazing.”

  
  
Lucy scowled as she struggled, “lemme go!” her face was bright red as she wriggled and tried to get away from the massive Solar Dragon Slayer, even as the woman stood and held her aloft.

 

Zen and Cris just stared at the sight in front of them, both men tilting their heads at the same time and nodding, “Night Sky Purple.”


	90. Paranoid

Farron Pradesh was used to being watched, but when it was as if whoever was watching him wasn't there, it got his mind a bit out of sorts. Vander had already checked over the room multiple times and there were no cameras, no hidden microphones, nothing.

 

All that the man was left with was a rising sense of paranoia. He didn't particularly like coming to Atla. It was hot, it was horrible, it was war torn; overall, it was a tense situation and the only reason he was there was because he had to be.

 

He'd been there a week and he still couldn't explain it, but he knew he'd figure it out. As it was, he was in the market for the first time. He picked up a few things, knowing Vander was close. He absently heard the sounds of fighting starting up and turned, moving to quickly get back to the Embassy, only to blink as he watched a fight erupt. He nodded as Vander came to his side and then both stood stock still as sand seemed to flow down the street and knock fighters down.

 

There was a squeal and a laugh before fire flew and Vander shadow hopped them up onto a rooftop to see what was going on.

 

A blonde woman in an odd jump suit…and what looked like a man with a scorpion tail were dodging down the street, "oops! Sorry! Pardon me! Coming throu-SCORPIO!"

 

"we are!" 'Scorpio' said, body shifting before a stream of sand came out of the 'tail' and the two were moving again.

 

"That's a celestial Spirit," Farron pursed his lips, going through what he knew from reports and even his brother.

 

Vander nodded, "I'm taking you back to the Embassy…I'll come back, you get near the skyport landing, just in case."

 

Farron knew it was prudent and after his disorientation faded, he started through the embassy. It was likely with just that small bit of fighting, something larger would break out. He waited patiently to see if Vander would return and then snorted as his brother did return, the blonde woman now wearing a set of leathers that almost rivaled Vander's and her hair was pulled back, feathers sticking out and the hair looking almost tribal as the two grappled.

 

A man that looked almost Encan was to the side, opening his mouth and holding up a hand, "Princess…no biting…please calm…" he let out a sound and then leaned against the wall, looking to Farron, "he can pin her, right?"

 

Farron nodded "he should be able to, Ambassador Farron Pradesh…Mister….?"

 

"Corvus," The man smiled, brushing back a lock of the inky hair, tugging on the cuffs that he wore. While he looked Encan, his clothing was anything but. He wore a long sleeveless duster, black leather pants, leather thigh boots. "That's my Contractor, Lucy Heartfilia…" he flinched as he heard the male the woman was grappling with yelp, "No biting please, you don't know where he's been."

 

"with Boscan bath attendants mostly," Farron said watching as the woman wriggled and tried to dip into the shadows, only to be tossed right back out by his brother, "Shadow magic?"

 

Corvus nodded, "yes, we just contracted a month ago…she's still learning. Wants to get back to Fiore, there's a few shadow mages that can help her with it."

 

Farron nodded to his brother, "My brother could as w-" he trailed off as the woman let out a moan and sighed as he looked at the two.

 

Vander had the woman pinned face down and ass in the air, his body pressed down against hers. He grinned as he slowly licked at her neck and purred, "alright, enough foreplay…" the man sputtered as he snapped back, "GAH! Fly in my mouth!"

 

"Musca! You don't know what's been in his mouth!" Lucy huffed as she dropped the stardress and held out a hand, snorting as a fly landed on one finger, "Gross…"

 

Vander slowly blinked, he hadn't thought anything of the flies around the place, it was just such a common thing due to the state of the city and he pursed his lips, "Farron…"

 

"…how long as…Musca been out?" Farron watched the woman warily.

 

Lucy blinked slowly and looked up at Farron, "oh…she takes so little magic…A few weeks I think…she can't really be killed, so I let her stay out." She looked at the fly when there was a small buzz, "oh? You've been here? Anything good?" she tilted her head and giggled, "Tricksie little thing. Sorry if she's bothered you."

 

Vander shook his head, "General paranoia, not much…" he didn't even realize the fly wasn't…a normal fly, there just wasn't a magical signature.


	91. Empty

Vander watched the two female scientists that he was 'watching over' for punishment. One had that cute look to her, big innocent brown eyes, blue hair held back by an orange bandana of all things; her partner wasn't much taller, at best Five foot two and a half, but while the bluenette had one hell of an ass and he was sure a pair of legs, the Blonde was a bombshell. Her hair was pulled up, pinned in a pair of buns that had pigtails, eyes that went from a dark umber to a beautiful honey gold, he'd noticed.

He was not allowed to hit on them, he was to watch them, and they were odd to say the least. They had sealed bottles and were shaking them, little…things he wasn't even sure what was in them making soft noises. He watched as they leaned in over one that looked empty.

The man slowly walked over, "Ladies…it's an empty jar…I don't think it's that interesting…" He had to keep them on track, whatever they were doing it was important enough for him to be there instead of elsewhere.

The blonde blinked owlishly and looked at him before she shook the bottle, "Do you hear that, Levs?"

The bluenette let out a soft hum and nodded, "I do, Lu."

One dark eyebrow arched, "I don't hear a thing."

The blonde tutted at him, holding the bottle up and slowly flicking it back and forth as she looked at him expectantly, "can't you hear that?"

Vander shook his head slowly, "no…what…am I supposed to be hearing."

She smiled at him and moved to hold the jar in both hands, as if she were going to undo the lid, her cohort letting out a sound and covering her mouth, looking half fearful half awed. Vander was curious and he watched her, "…well?"

"Inside this jar, could be the Higgs Boson…There's only one catch," Her eyes danced and he really thought she looked a little crazy, "if it is…and I open it…everything will be sucked into his gravitational mass…"

"Lu! Don't do it!" The bluenette let out a low whine.

The blonde smirked, "I swear I can hear it…" her eyes danced and then Vander lunged as she twisted the cap. She laughed as it opened and all that came out was the smell of sandalwood.

"What the hell, woman?!" Vander scowled down at the blonde woman that was laughing uncontrollably.

It took a moment for her to stop laughing and she grinned, "Guess it wasn't…just an empty bottle…"

Vander scowled, "I swear your Head is **_empty_**."

 


	92. Golden

Being able to see souls was both a blessing and a curse to Bickslow because he could see a myriad of colors when he did. The blues, reds, greens and silvers were far more common than most would understand. It was the Golden Souls that he knew represented Light that were far more rare.

Yet, as he sat in the White Sea Guildhall, he could see a few of the souls simply curling out to the other souls around them, soothing them, caressing them. He smiled as he sipped his drink and watched the souls for another moment before chuckling.

Cristoff's golden soul had a beautiful silver twined that reminded him of moonlight threaded into it - his dragon soul, Bickslow knew – and it soothed those around him, helped to calm tempers and generally just make people feel relaxed.

Kaleb's golden soul was laced with a striking white and while it did reach out to soothe, the tendrils of the man's soul seemed to search out dark parts of the souls around him, bringing light, subconsciously to those parts.

Vander's soft, yet bright, golden soul didn't stay in touch with any one soul often, but it always brought joy and laughter, much like the man himself. His entire family knew the tragedy in his life, but the man's easy going nature, coupled with him always smiling and joking, made it fairly easy to just embrace the joy that the man could radiate.

The bright golden soul with just a few tendrils of silver that Zen housed seemed to have strength to it. Many around him always felt more at ease, like they could do more around the archangel mage. Where Bickslow could see uncertainty in souls, Zen's reached out, and – if Bickslow could be honest – it looked like his brother's soul would literally give them a slap as if to say 'you're fine. Stop.'.

It was the soft golden soul of the celestial mage that worried him most. It was beautiful, radiant, reaching out, soothing and healing without any care. The hurt, the darkness, anything that the soft soul healed reflected on it. At one time, it had been like looking into the sun, now it was a gentle glow with wounds, insecurities and other taken on 'bumps and bruises' that surrounded the once bright soul core.

It wasn't that the souls of his siblings didn't try to reach out to the woman, but it was as if the gentle rebuff the souls got was enough to make them confused. Zen's seemed the most insistent of the bunch and he could see a resonance in their souls, but Lucy's head would always snap up and then she'd be retreating physically from people, normally hiding out well away from **everyone** which just made it worse.

Bickslow knew it was the resonance between not only their souls, but their magic and he could see the fear in her eyes when it happened. She didn't want to hurt his brother, refused to. That was why she was refusing help, most likely, because she didn't want anything to happen to them. The Seith knew that sooner rather than later, the woman needed help, before everything just crushed her soul and extinguished it.

 


	93. Shooting Star

Zen was done. He'd tried to coax the woman he'd been attracted to with only mild repercussions of the worst side of his magic; he'd tried to go to her…and she was a damn escape artist. His ire grew bit by bit as the months went by and even his brothers were half avoiding him.

They were keeping people away from him on the whole as he continued to chomp at the bit of his frustration. How in the world could a woman that supposedly was _kidnapped_ all the damn time avoid people like she did? They knew she wasn't kidnapped, she spent most of her time inside White Sea and the protective wards made it so that she couldn't be kidnapped.

No, she was just avoiding him…and he was done. Theoretically, the celestial mage was supposed to initiate the bonding and mating. He wasn't waiting. She gave him more than enough space, acted like a frightened little Rabbit when their magic caressed each other, but would stand up to almost anyone else.

As it was, there was a meteor shower and most of the guild was out simply because it was supposed to be the largest one in the last century. He was perched on a balcony, looking down at the training grounds that were set up to watch the shower, eyes scanning with suspicion until he saw the small blonde head of hair that was settled next to that damn pink haired dragon slayer.

His magic would not allow a dragon slayer to have her, except Cris, but he was family which was different. Cris had scoffed and pointed out the mage was kin and that was all his mind and magic needed. No, he wasn't going to wait for the woman that needed emotional strength, not magical strength.

Zen waited and watched, then he heard the first of the shooting stars scream across the sky. His eyes were kept on her and as more and more came…he jumped off the balcony. He knew he couldn't use his wings until he was very close, she'd sense the magic and try to 'jump ship', as it were. In Fact, when he snapped his wings out, he saw her jump up, much to the dismay of the pink haired slayer and start to take off through the crowd.

It was a good try on her part, really, but everyone was **sitting** unlike her. His lips split into a grin and he banked, shifting his body and plucked her right off the ground. People looked at the screeching for all of a few seconds before there was some stifled laughter and snorts of humor.

Lucy's fists were smacking the archangel anywhere she could find, "let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"

He let out a low, dangerous rumble that had her quieting and stilling, "no. I'm sick of waiting for you." He smirked, he could almost imagine the owlish look on her features and he could feel the heat on her face. Yes, she was scared, of a lot…and she'd left at least a few bruises from her 'attack'. The resonance was there, the urge was there and as he landed on the balcony of his room, he smirked and set her down, hunger trailing through him. Oh, if she wouldn't take the first step, he could and he would have her.

"now, my little Mate, let's talk," He purred as he watched her stumble backwards, "because I'm sick of being denied."

-0-0-0-

this Semi-goes with "Golden" lol

I love Lucy and Zen as a couple, but let's face it, Lucy's damn selfless...Zen is just...done.

 


	94. Pillar

Her lips slowly quirked upwards as she relaxed against the door frame, watching as he played with their nephews and she shook her head. The blond haired Hunter and the raven haired Orion seemed to enjoy their time with their uncle and she laughed softly as she watched him let the boys topple him. Her eyes danced softly as she stood there, shaking her head. Like their parents, the boys were opposites of the same coin, they weren't sure exactly where their slayer abilities would go, but for now, with them being as close to their parents as they were, they were simply giving them the same designation.

Orion's nose twitched and the boy grinned as he looked at the door and waved. She clicked her tongue and smiled as she carefully walked towards them. "honestly, I was content to watch for a bit more."

Her husband slowly arched an eyebrow as he stood and crossed his arms on his chest, "you're not supposed to be out of bed."

She rolled her golden orbs, ignoring the chastising look in his golden flecked purple eyes, "I'm not an invalid."

"you're my mate," He spoke, voice rumbling across her before he slowly drew her against his chest, one hand resting on her very swollen abdomin.

She couldn't help but sigh as she looked up, letting her head rest against his chest, "you're over protective."

"You have no sense of danger," He shot back with a smirk tugging at his lips.

She snorted, "I do too." She smiled as the boys both moved to rest their heads against her stomach, chuckling softly as she felt the babies growing inside her kick at them, "careful boys, they don't have enough room as it is, they get highly touchy when someone even touches."

"Inside."

The woman let out a soft sigh as she let herself be led back inside. She knew she shouldn't be walking, she knew there was a huge risk just in having triplets, but dammit…she refused to be holed up like a damsel. She went to say something, but felt him through their bond and sighed, deflating a bit. Where she was emotional, he was logical; not to say that he was emotionless, but when push came to shove, he could make the logical decisions…especially when her own heart and emotions had her running off and away from everything. In the last five years, he'd drilled into her head that it was fine to be selfish from time to time, but he'd never let her get too far gone in that; he'd become her emotional pillar.

Magically, they had both grown by being together, she could bring out the softer side in him and he knew how to flip the switch in her head from emotional to the "Second Fairy Tactician" as she'd been called before moving to Pelerno and relocating to White Sea as a guild. It wasn't that she didn't love Fairy Tail, she still did, and she'd still attempt to sacrifice a lot for her friends, her old guildmates, even her new guildmates…but she needed to move on, most past all of that and she couldn't do that at Fairy Tail, where they all wanted to protect her.

He'd helped her grow, helped her learn to be a better person, not a selfless person who didn't care about her own self worth, or self being. No, he'd taken her by the hand and shown her a new life, new challenges, new ways to grow. Now if she could last the last two months of this pregnancy? She'd be happy again.

He chuckled as he helped her into bed, "…you know…I enjoy your internal monologue some days…"

Her face turned bright red, "Zen! You promised you wouldn't listen!"

Zen quirked an eyebrow at her, smirking as he tucked the blankets about her and made sure the pillows were properly fluffed up behind her, "Lucy…when you're thinking hard enough that it's projecting…I can't help it." He kissed her, "and…you're my pillar as well."

 


	95. Downstream

Lucy stood there for a moment, licking her lips as she held a golden key in her hand and looked at the utter destruction around her. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she coughed and turned red. She slowly looked to the side, at the only other member of Fairy Tail that had gotten out of being swept away.

She hadn't quite gotten Aquarius' gate closed in time after the contract had been made and she realized the Mermaid was going to give her typical 'greeting'.

Bickslow stood there for a moment, looking at the Celestial Spirit Mage and then back to the water, "…so…"

Lucy nodded a bit, "so…"

"The entire guildhall, huh?"

"yup, Aquarius is powerful."

They both looked through the destruction of the town, the canals were all sorts of torn up, and the Seith patted the blonde on the back, "well…you've officially done the whole 'destroy a city' thing that most of us have done…"

Lucy smacked her lips and sighed, "yup."

"yup." The Seith chuckled and snorted, "she sent the entire guild downstream…"

"pretty sure it was all aimed at Happy, for holding that Charcoal grill…"

 

 


	96. Heartache

Zen scowled as he watched the two people working on a spaceship from the observation deck of the hangar. He let out a low grumble as he felt Kaleb and Farron on either side of him, "Yes?"

"well, you've been watching Lucy and Nuyrev for awhile now…" Kaleb smirked, "having issues?"

Zen let out a low growl, "I don't see why we're trusting him. He was working with Peregrande. I think it's stupid."

Kaleb smiled softly, "well, Lucy seems to think we can trust him…and is helping him with his work on this interstellar ship…have you offered to help?"

Zen growled again, "yes, but they've pointed out their using ancient…" he waved a hand, "almost like Magic stuff to build it. I'm just…a third wheel."

Farron arched an eyebrow, "oh, come now, you're not heartbroken are you? We barely know her."

"I…" Zen scowled and turned, "me? I'm a heartbreaker! I don't get my heart broken!" With a low growl, he huffed and stormed out of the hangar.

The two blonde brothers stood there, both moving to open bottles of drink, slowly sipping from it. Blue eyes looked to the side and Farron arched an eyebrow, "…this is where we're obligated as brothers to tease the living hell out of him, right?"

Kaleb nodded, "yes, then when he finally admits it…we comfort him." He frowned as he looked down into the hangar, sighing as he saw the two having a light kiss and then watched as Lucy pulled away. "…though, it seems that she really does like him…."

~)~))~)~)

Kinda...sorta in the whole...Sci-Fi world I'm writing up...lol half inspired by the new Voltron...don't judge me. .

 


	97. Thrilling

Adrenaline was going through their bodies, the fight was intense and they hadn't expected to find a group of mages busting out of the slaver ship they were infiltrating. Fire curled around them and Emzadi grinned, moving with flowing movements and her eyes lighting up to grab control of the fire.

The snow coming from no where made them pause as a man with dark hair slowly jumped out of the air, a woman with Crimson hair falling to land on the deck and creating cracks. It didn't take any of the Pradesh siblings long to realize who they were, the Fairy Tail Mages often complained about by their brother Bickslow for their tendency to create destruction in their wake.

 _"this is way too controlled from what Bixy said"_ Vander spoke as they watched the slavers move, taking out a few as they passed. _"and I don't think…they're that powerful…"_

Emzadi narrowed her eyes as the image around the fire dragon slayer seemed to shimmer, leaving a tall man in rich robes and fire surrounding him, then the ice make had the same issue, revealing a much taller man that had a bear pelt over his head. "who are you?"

The first male looked at Emzadi for a moment, "Spirits."

Spirits…didn't do that, did they? The woman was confused. She'd never heard of them coming out on their own. Her eyes turned towards the bridge of the ship as there was an explosion.

"Princess!" The male in the fur started towards it, the snow swirling around them, dousing the fires as best the chill could.

Emzadi narrowed her eyes as two figures came out of the smoke, a small woman being drug by her hair and tied up with heavy chains. The man was tall and he looked almost like a feral animal.

"LUPIS!" The firey male yelled, "Let her go!"

The man smirked, his yellow eyes dancing before a wolf like grin curled over his lips, "Oh, come on, now Ankaa. It's a mortal. You'll find another."

Almost as if he knew the attacks were coming, his eyes danced before he threw the woman by her hair over the railing. When Vander's sword pierced his chest, he just disappeared in a flow of star dust.

_"ZEN!"_

_"On it."_

Kaleb could hear no screaming from the woman, half wondering if she was even conscious before he heard a hum in her head. It was a strange song as she fell, he could hear her plan to get out of her bonds.

_'twist, a bit more…dislocate shoulder…wriggle…there. Okay…this speed will kill me on impact, can't quite connect to my magi…oh, is that an angel, holy stars he's hot…oh, he's coming at me…limp! Go limp.'_

Kaleb chuckled, it was almost like she was used to being plucked out of the air.

Zen banked, corkscrewing in the air as he caught the woman and blinking as her arms went over his neck, "…hello..?"

The blonde woman grinned, "hey, don't worry, my arms should hold. Shackles and all."

"you're an odd one," Zen arched an eyebrow as he banked and moved to pull up.

The woman snorted, "you know, I get kidnapped enough…that talking to Angels seems to be the most thrilling thing I've done this month." She let out a squeak as he couldn't help but dive down a bit. "…wicked man."

Zen smirked, "archangel."

The woman smirked, "sinfully built archangel have a name?"

The archangel chuckled as he landed, "Zen."

"Lucy," the woman purred, shifting her body so she bounced a bit, arms moving from around his neck and she groaned, "shit, my shoulders hurt.."

"Princess!" The woman turned at the chorus and Ezra scarlet seemed to come apart into two different little…blue dolls.

The woman cooed as she held them and smiled as the other two wrapped their arms around her. "Alkaid, Ankaa…Gemini…I'm fine, see…"

"we would have been a lot better off if you would have not been captured," The gruff male spoke.

Lucy smiled and pat the spirits cheek, "who's my big cuddly teddy bear."

Zen choked at the words, "I thought teddy bear was Cris' profession…" He glanced to the side as Vander came out of the shadows.

"we might have a fight on our hands…" The shadowquip grinned as he watched, "though we're done here. Presca's taking the ship to the ground. What are your plans?"

Zen smirked as he watched the woman fuss over the spirits, "I think a bit of hunt might be in order…"

Vander looked at the blonde woman for a moment, "…If not the chase, the capture might be thrilling."

 


	98. Desiderium (word of Choice)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have been thinking here and there, but today a song came on and that's what spurred this. One Sided GrayLu, a little sad, alcohol use, etc, blah blah.
> 
> Song: Drunk Me By Mitchell Tenpenny. I do not own, it's a beautiful song, but I hold no Credit to rights past inspiration.

He watched as she laughed across the room. He was trying to smile, but he'd never been prone to smiling, save for small ones, so it worked that he was slowly sipping his drink and watching her as she curled her arms over the man's shoulders. Part of him wondered if he could ever compete with such a well built man, their past notwithstanding. Her eyes simply lit up with a beautiful light.

He could feel the buzz slowly settling in and sighed as his eyes drooped beneath their lids. He felt someone come to his side and then looked over, giving a faint smile and seeing the sadness reflected in those onyx eyes.

_**Some people don't know when to quit and that's why they quit** _

_**Some need to hit the bottom to see they got a problem, they can't handle it** _

_**But that ain't why I started cleaning up my life** _

_**Wish it was but, ooh, that would be a lie** _

He wasn't sure what happened, but he woke up the next morning his head and jaw hurt. He looked at himself in the mirror, frowning at the bruise on his face. What did he do? He seriously couldn't remember after Cana brought out the shots of some alcohol or another and he'd decided to drink to try and forget for a little while.

_**I've been sober 'cause there ain't no hangover like you girl, no, no, no** _

_**Baby can you come over** _

_**I always find those words at the bottom of a hundred proof, yeah** _

_**Girl, every time you do** _

His eyes went a bit wide when flashes of the night before snapped across his mind and he groaned at how he'd acted.

_Lucy was settled at the table, leaning against Cana as the two laughed, the group of Boscan's a few tables over watching the group but since they had various facets of their magic that made it so that alcohol didn't affect them, it wasn't fair for them to take part in the drinking contest._

_He looked across the table at her, he was six shots in and truly feeling the alcohol settle in. He leaned towards the blonde for a moment, then grinned slightly as she looked at him, "come over tonight, Lucy."_

_The bright smile on her lips fell and her brow furrowed in concentration as she sat there, "Gray… i'm promi-" she let out as squeak as he buried his face in her neck and then was soon ripped off._

_The tall mahogany haired man stood over Gray, letting out a growl with hands fisted at his sides and Gray felt only an ache in his jaw before he was up, the fight didn't last long, but the insults that had been thrown were more than enough. The last thing he'd seen was watery brown eyes and Lucy looking at him like she wasn't sure who he was any more._

**_I just end up, head all messed up like the sheets where we made love_ **

**_I've been sober since you broke my heart in two_ **

**_'Cause drunk me can't get over you (there ain't no hangover like you)_ **

**_Can't get over, can't get over (there ain't no hangover like you)_ **

**_Oh, no, no, no_ **

He'd tried to control himself, but his heart ached as he tried to get over the blonde woman. When it got to be too much, he'd always drink and then end up calling her com lacrima. She rarely answered after the first few times, but he did and that had him feeling angry in his drunk state and he'd rage at the Boscan for a bit before the sobs in the background always made him end the call in shame.

They'd spent only two nights together, the first one awkward, the second not much better and decided that they were better as friends; or rather, Lucy had with a soft smile and caring eyes. She saw him as a brother even though he saw her as more.

_**All those bottles sitting up on the shelf are just salt on the wound** _

_**One sip and I'm picking up the phone trying not to go home without you** _

_**And that ain't nothing but a whole lotta pain** _

_**And that kind of hurt, ooh hurts, it ain't worth another drink** _

As Gray kept out of the alcohol, it got easier; the calls happened from time to time, mostly when stress got to be too much, then he was raging at the Archangel mage on the com. The man was surprisingly calm and let him get it out, but...the sniffles in the background were what always made him put whatever drink in his hand down and end the call.

The topics he raged on the last few times were him taking her away from Fairy Tail. Though, in a way, he supposed his own actions were the reason she chose White Sea over Fairy Tail. No one truly faulted her, but they all missed her dearly...and when that feeling of just wanting to see her became too much that he started to drink.

~)~))~~

It had been a year since Lucy had visited Fairy Tail and quite a few understood why; though most thought the main reason was planning her wedding and picking out homes with Zen. She took a breath and looked up at him, squeezing his hand and smiling warmly. They'd done a traditional Boscan wedding for his family and now they'd finished everything with Kardia Cathedral so that her Fairy Tail family could be part of it.

They stood in front of the large group of mages, from all over Fiore, and some of the Gentry from around the country, as well as some from outside of Fiore. The two didn't listen to the priest as he spoke, it would be a good twenty minutes before they were needed to speak, so instead, they held hands and shared a warm look.

"And now...the vows…"

Lucy smiled warmly and arched an eyebrow, she knew they'd prepared special vows for this ceremony, because it was for this extended group of people, not the intimate one that they'd had in Bosco.

Zen grinned as he stood there, wearing a Boscan suit in white and gold, "when we met, I didn't expect to meet someone that would actually complete me. I'd heard about you from my brothers that had met you, but what they said paled in comparison to what I saw. It wasn't just our magics that drew us together that day, but it was part of it. The heavens called to our Fates and I'm glad I found you." He raised her hand to his lips as he bowed a bit. "I will always cherish you, love you, honor you and stand beside you, not in front of you."

Lucy blushed a bit as she stood there, wearing the long silvery-white gown that Virgo had made her; gemstones littered the dress, creating the constellations of the heavens on the fabric that could only be seen barely. She took a breath as she spoke, "if I'm honest, I never thought I'd find love. No one was ever a perfect fit…" She paused, "There were a few that were close, but there was still something aching in me, searching for more. When we first met...it was like when I first met the celestial Spirit King…time stopped and the world just ground to a halt." She ducked her head a bit as she looked up at him from beneath her veil, "I never believed in love at first sight for myself, but...you made me believe with just a glance over your shoulder in the middle of a battlefield." she let out a small, watery chuckle, "I can't see myself anywhere but at your side, being the compassion to your blade."

The priest called for anyone that had a reason they shouldn't be married. It was a formality, they all knew and no one would bring it up. They were married in Bosco already and this was just to share the occasion with others. After a pause, the man nodded, "you may kiss the bride."

The veil was lifted before the two moved together, her arms curling up as he tugged her close and catcalls when out at the kiss that the two shared and then gasps as black wings appeared from Zen's back, curling around them and hiding what a lot of people wanted to see, especially when they heard the small blonde let out a mewl of pleasure.

 


	99. Fragments

Zen stood in a room that was filled with mirrors, brow furrowed as he slowly looked at each of them. Each showed different scenes, different ‘lives’ almost, if he could be honest. The man moved to one and slowly watched the him within standing there, looking devastated as he held a woman’s body in his arms.

 

The him in the mirror’s wings were outstretched as he let out a scream of pain and magic just radiated off him. He himself felt such an ache just looking at the heat break, wondering what lead up to that point. The scene seemed to pan a bit and he saw his brother’s guildmate, Natsu, standing though the man looked downright demonic with leathery wings and an insane look in his eyes as he held a heart in his hand.

 

_“if I can’t have her, no one can, not even you, archangel,” The Demonic Natsu hissed, “Luce belongs to me.”_

_Zen snarled as his face snapped to the other man, wings starting to turn darker, almost as if they were becoming black holes, “she never belonged to you! She was not your mate!”_

_“She was to be my **broodmother** , _ _Archangel_ _,” Natsu laughed darkly, “It took years to get her trust, to get her to depend on me!”_

_A sword came from behind and below Natsu, slamming up and through the demonic creature’s chest, a woman’s voice hissing, “I was never yours, Natsu.”_

_Lucy looked pale as she stood there, panting and gasping before she looked at Zen as Natsu fell forward and the body in his arms dissolved into golden sparkles, two small spirits appearing, “…sorry…they panicked.”_

_Zen slowly stood and walked to her as she walked to him, wrapping his arms and wings around her and burying his face in her hair. The_ _Archangel_ _let out a choked sound even as magic was released, the body on the ground being burned by Celestial Fire, “I thought…”_

_“shh, it’s okay…” Lucy smiled at him, hands coming up and she murmured, “I’d never leave you.”_

Zen shook his head, turning away from the mirror to look at the next. He frowned, not knowing where or what this place was, but it wasn’t Earthland.

 

_The two were panting and gasping, glass fogging as the two let out cries of pleasure and the small woman nuzzled against him, “holy…”_

_Zen grinned as he sat there, “no words?”_

_“Oh, shut it, Flyboy,” Lucy laughed as she pulled away from him and turned, carefully extracting herself from him and hitting a button. There was a sound before the glass canopy shifted and the two, adjusting their clothing so that it looked like nothing had happened, stood in a hangar._

_Zen smirked as he walked with her towards the doors and took a breath of the air, “mmm, marry me?”_

_Lucy blinked slowly and arched an eyebrow, “the world is in the middle of a war, and you want me to marry you?”_

_“hey…” he looked down at her, “we don’t know when we’ll be deployed…” he grinned, “and I think I’ll fly better, faster and safer, knowing I’ve got a girl to come back to.”_

_She slapped his chest and snorted, “you don’t even have a ring, Flyboy.”_

_Zen looked sheepish as he reached into the vest he wore and pulled out a small box before kneeling down, “I do.”_

_Lucy blinked owlishly and looked down at the delicate ring with a pearl resting on it, “…you asshole, Flyboy.” She grinned at him though, eyes dancing before she carefully took the ring, “I guess…” She quirked her lips at the scowl on his features and then kissed him, “for a flyboy, you’re not bad…and I wouldn’t mind marrying you.”_

_“For a nurse, you’re damn sassy,” Zen grinned as he stood, wrapping an arm around her as the ring was slid on. The two stood there and then the world shattered, explosions going on, alarms ringing through the air, “shit…”_

_Lucy took a breath, “You do your part, Flyboy…” she smiled up at him, “I’ll…” she flinched as a plane slammed into the tarmac in front of them and she was pulled back, unable to keep the scream of terror in as her body shook, “shit…shit…shit…”_  
  
_”lucy,” His voice was firm and he made her look at him, “take the access tunnels.”_

_She looked up at him, “you’re going up…aren’t you?”_

_Zen smiled warmly and nodded, “I am, I want you safe.”_

_The woman swallowed and murmured as she leaned up, kissing him, “you stay safe, Flyboy…” she took a breath and cringed as another explosion went off, “please.”_

_“I will be,” Zen lead her to a hatch and opened it, helping her down, “now go, be that sassy nurse that gave me hell when I broke my nose in a bar fight.”_

_She looked up at him for a moment, feeling a bit of dread before nodding, “See you soon, Flyboy.”_

_~)~)~)~)~_

_“I can’t believe it! Who would attack_ _Pearl harbor_ _!”_

_Lucy ignored the talk around her as she moved through the medical wing, helping doctors with a firm set of lips. She’d put the ring she’d been given on the necklace as she’d made the break from the hangar and she took a deep breath, “I don’t care. We’re nurses, we’ve got a job!”_

_“Very good, Nurse Heartfilia.”_

_The woman smiled softly at the man and then grinned, “oh, come on, Doctor Pradesh.” She hip checked the dark haired man, “let’s get to work, Kaleb.”_

_Kaleb let out a laugh and shook his head, “right.”_

Zen frowned, though…he suspected that there was no Immaculate light in this world…so the man still had the dark hair and deep eyes. He watched as the man worked and the woman was right there helping him for awhile, but he didn’t understand this war torn world.

 

Taking a moment, he shook his head and moved to the next, blinking owlishly as he saw ocean…and it took a moment for the Mirror to find a ship on it and zoom in.

 

_“I’m telling you, Juves,” It was the same blonde again, though she was dressed like a pirate, “you’re gonna love the place, we’re gonna dock, we’re gonna party…and…” She trailed off, “..shit…navy ships? Really? Ugh.”_

_“why is Lucy so upset?” The woman with blue hair tilted her head._

_The blonde let out a whine, “because, Navy ships means the pit fights aren’t going to be going on…I needed that stress relief.”_

_The ship docked and the normally over the top pirate town was a little subdued, much to the blonde’s dismay as she stomped through the town. The two, along with the rest of the crew, walked towards a small_ _Inn_ _with a sign that read Honey Bone Inn on it and she opened the door, “mira! We’re here.”_

_“LUCY!” The woman disengaged herself from the group she was talking with, gathering the small blonde into a hug, “it’s been months! Are you alright?”_

_The blonde gently pat the woman’s shoulder, “I’m fine, Mira, just…rooms…? I’m going to go see if they’re going to open the pit fights tonight or not.”\_

  
  
_The silverhaired woman nodded, “of course, of course.” Mira watched the woman go, shaking her head and smiling warmly before walking back to the table, “Right, so…need anything, myself or Lis can help you.”_

_“She said…Pit fights?” Zen pursed his lips, “aren’t those…dangerous?”_

_Mira smiled warmly “Lucy grew up in a Joyan arena.”_

_The group all frowned, Kaleb pursing his lips, “I didn’t know the Joyans…”_

_Mira gave a small, sad smile, “it’s how the warqueens…train their…heirs.”_

_“she’s…joyan?” Kaleb’s eyes narrowed a bit more._

_Mira shook her head, “no, Fiorian, but…her family was merchants, the ship went too close to Joya…was taken out, mother killed, father bred and killed…she was the only girl that came from her father, the boys were…well, you know Joyan’s and boy children..” She let out a breath, “But…the woman that captured them…Sydelle…she put Lucy in the pits, named Lucy her heir…and the girl grew up that way. She’s sweet…a bit rough around the edges, but…” Mira shrugged, “takes a bit to get her to warm up.”_

Zen frowned a bit as he stood there, brow furrowed deeply, “all of these are so…different.”

 

There was a light voice behind him, and the sound of chains rattling, “the multiverse is large, Archangel…”

 

He turned and stared at the woman, feeling instinctively that she was a Celestial Spirit, “what?”

 

“These are all…possibilities in the large Mutliverse of existence.”

 

“Why only ones where we’re together?” Zen stared at the woman.

 

She smiled softly, “Because you’re the one looking…” She motioned and smiled, “Though…this one is closer to your world…”

 

Zen slowly walked over, looking at it and staring widely, “…that’s a dragon mating mark on my shoulder..and hers…and my brothers…what…?”

 

“Oh, she shares the three of you there…”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sitting on this for awhile...
> 
> and for those that don't realize it...the last one is hinting towards Desna's "Madness of Dragons"


	100. Spell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is...actually a bit from Star that the muses looped back to while I'm working on the newest chapter. It deals with Hestor while he's in the Energy Spell for the purpose of opening The Eclipse gate and touches quite a few things. It's an emotional Ride. this is probably the first time I've done...anything exactly like this.
> 
> in Star, Lucy Felt the rising and pulsing power and she didn't know what it was until they got up there. Hisui was using Hestor for the "main cog" of the spell. Contrary to what many might think, I beleive the wells of ALL Celestial Mages' power is massive. yes, they've got caps on them, some have a higher "skill ceiling" because of what they've done in their lives. Hestor trained, really worked his ass off in his life. He's not weak, his best friend (or Barnacle if you ask him) trains with him in magic, he's in a massive guild that helps promote a healthy life style to build a Mage's magic on; he has enough power to summon what is, essentially a pocket dimension to Judge Souls. That's...not something to sneeze at. 
> 
> Do Lucy and Hestor throw this around? no, they have no reason to. They have other priorities...like...you know...working on relationships across the spectrum from "friend/sister" to "Broken Trust".
> 
> These Mages do not define themselves by their magic (unlike a good portion of the canon-verse does) but by how Rich they can make their lives and the connections they have with others. It's those bonds that give them more power. The One Magic (aka Love, which is explained in the FT Manga) is what all other magic is based off of; if you look, every sacrifice that Lucy makes, every choice she makes in the manga...it's based on her feelings of caring and love. That's what's led me to believe that Celestial Summoning Magic is only one to three Steps Removed from the One magic.

Hestor felt himself falling and floating at the same time, every one of his nerves on fire. His breath was caught, yet came in ragged breaths as his vision was filled with white. The Celestial Mage’s mind tried to piece together what had happened through the lancing agony of his body. Every time he felt his magical containers and pathways have the energy be ripped from him, it was like more power flooded, creating another wave of agony.

 

_ “Let me die…no...don’t...don’t want to die...I don’t want to...miss my date...” _

 

The words echoed in his mind, he wanted it to stop and his muscles seized as another wave of magic slammed into him, tearing a soundless scream from his now raw throat. All his training, everything that he’d prepared himself for in his life, nothing came close to being able to prepare him for the senses stripping fire that lanced through his body. He felt his consciousness drift a bit, old memories surfacing as he tried to keep ahold of his mental faculties enough to stay awake...if he was awake, he wasn’t truly sure if he was awake or asleep.

 

_ “Mom...why do you insist that we wear these things when we come?” _

 

_ The woman smiled softly at him, crouching down to gently tuck a stray bit of hair behind his ear and then tug the hood over his head down a bit more. Eyes, the same color as his, a gray that was just tinted with blue that reminded him of the steel swords he’d seen in the weapon shops met his. “For our protection, my little star.” She kissed his nose gently and then stood, taking his hand and then a shuddering breath left her as they slowly started to thread through the crowd. _

 

_ “Where’s Dad?” _

 

_ “He has work to do,” She smiled down at him, “He’ll meet up with us while we’re at the festival.” _

 

Oh, he remembered that day, that was when he found the first Sister of Ammit. It had taken him a week to show it to his mother and she’d looked proud but stricken at the same time. He didn’t understand then, now he did. After gathering the Keys of The Halls of Two Truths...now he knew. She had feared for him, feared that he would fall into darkness...truthfully, he almost had.

 

Another wave of pure blood burning torment lanced through him and he half sunk into the memory that just barely surfaced, using it to avoid the misery that he wanted to give into.

 

_ The female spirit looked at him and crossed her arms on her chest, “tiny little thing…” _

 

_ “I’m not tiny!” young Hestor scowled up at the spirit, “I haven’t hit my growth spurt yet! Dad says soon!” _

 

_ “I’m talking about your magic,” She leaned down, staring at him and then took his chin in her hands, holding tightly, “you have a lot of work boy.” her lips curled into a feral grin and he swore it was like looking into the maw of death. _

 

That one. Oh, he’d first met Kek-t then. Not that he’d learned her name then, no that would be years later after he met Lucy and had learned that they all had ‘names’ other than just their keys. Kek-t had driven him to gather power, more and more, no matter the cost...if only to keep her from looking at him like he was going to be her next meal. He knew now that she wouldn’t have done that, but it had sent shivers down his six year old spine.

 

Hestor didn’t surface this time as he felt the power slam through his body, letting himself sink into memories to at least forget. He didn’t even realize that tears were coming out of his eyes, some of them pink as the magic had started to rupture blood vessels.

 

_ Hestor snorted softly as he sat, curled up with a book and rolled his eyes as he saw Kaleb out of the corner of his eye, “Master Kaleb.” he looked amused. Normally, the searching out was the other way around. He’d been slowly talking to the other, explaining what he wanted. His magic had compelled him to open his mouth, it had chosen this man for him to love...even if he was fighting it all the time. He could hide behind sarcasm and wit, pushing emotions other than ones that would pertain to gathering the keys to help Lucy. _

 

_ “Do you have time to talk?” Kaleb watched him and Hestor could see the wariness in his eyes.  _

 

_ It was a good thing, that wariness, he knew he was shrouded in darkness from the keys he had. He felt it recede a bit as he gave a nod and watched the man sit down. “Of course.” He set the book aside, watching the vessel of the Light sit and waited. _

 

_ “Dad, even Farron, have said that...Celestial mages don’t just tell people about keys,” Kaleb pinned the man with a firm look, “So why are you telling me so much?” _

 

_ Hestor took a breath and shook his head, “I have no doubt that I am ever going to get into a relationship with anyone. You have lived with Lucy your entire life, call it a favor to her that I’m sharing.” _

 

_ Kaleb’s eyes narrowed a bit, Hestor knew Kaleb could tell it was half a lie. They’d been skirting around feelings for months now, neither wanting to say anything, or make a move. Kaleb, he knew, was too calculating to do so and even if his own magic wanted him to reach out, Hestor felt...tainted. A part of him wanted the love that he’d seen between his parents, but he also knew that if he didn’t find the entire set of keys, he’d walk a path that he wouldn’t want anyone to be drug down with him. It would twist him to want possession more than Love, Power more than anything. After knowing Lucy, having her in his life? He didn’t want to take anyone down that road with him, or be pained if he did start down that path, knowing that it would lead to Death. _

 

_ “Hestor.” _

 

_ The Celestial mage sighed, “Please take that explanation, Master Kaleb.” he didn’t flinch at the own pleading tone his voice had. He could see in the lavender eyes that the mindbender wanted to dive into his head, but was holding back and he gave the other a small smile, “Just...let me rest, let the world come back to color for me before I go out and find the rest of the set…” he looked at the closed book in his lap, whispering one word that held such a beseeching tone that he ducked his head. “...please?” _

 

_ “Don’t do this alone, Hestor.” _

 

_ The steel gray eyes looked up and the tired and weary Celestial mage gave a faint smile, “I’ll try not to.” _

 

That had been the moment he’d truly lost the fight against his heart, the soft look the other had given him, how the worry had darkened those eyes just slightly. He’d been tempted to kiss the man then, but Lucy had burst into the Pradesh library, cackling insanely like she always did when she was researching something.

 

Hestor frowned as he saw darkness at the edges of his ‘vision’, eyes rolling in their sockets as another silent scream tore through his body, blood trickling from the corners of his eyes and mouth unknown to him. The man shuddered as his body suddenly felt heavy, but...at the same time, it was like he was free.

 

Slowly he saw something, he wasn’t sure what as the darkness enclosed his vision completely and the figure came into focus. He swallowed, seeing the pale man. Slender, yet tall but not to the point of being Sickly, if it weren’t for the paper white complexion.

 

Hestor shuddered as he floated, looking at the outstretched hand,  _ “who are you?” _

 

_ “I think you know who I am, child.” _

 

The voice caused shivers to run through his body,  _ “Charon. So...I’m dead?” _

 

_ “You are. Any regrets?” _

 

Hestor debated and let out a small, emotionally pained laugh,  _ “Plenty...mostly….leaving his stubborn ass.” _

 

_ “You found love. Finally.” _

 

_ “I had love.”  _ Hestor scowled and his eyes narrowed.

 

Charon chuckled faintly, darkly,  _ “not family love. Not friend love. The design that The One Magic has for us all. The Perfect Love.” _

 

_ “He’s a stubborn jackass.” _

 

_ “So are you,” _ The voice sounded amused.

 

Hestor went to bite back at the being before groaning as pain seemed to tear through him again,  _ “wha…” _

 

_ “Don’t worry,” _ The Voice was soft and hestor felt the cold hands against his cheeks,  _ “it will be over soon, no more pain...no more worry…” _

 

The Celestial mage heard Kaleb’s voice...and Kek-t, straining to hear, but it seemed that everything was muted, the being in front of him taking all his attention, every bit of his senses. He flinched as light started to burn at the being’s chest.

 

_ “...interesting…” _

 

He felt pain wrack his body and coughed, barely registering the pleading request to open his eyes, “...no energy..” it took all that he had to force his body to work, bringing a hand slowly up and then he pushed his body, feeling the lancing stabs of fried nerves as he opened his eyes. The world was red tinted and he realized  Charon was right...he was dying. He let his eyes slowly close again, resting from the pounding spikes of pain that keeping them open caused.

 

“shh, they said I can save you.”

 

“Don't push yourself,  _ guildmaster,  _ ” The nickname wasn’t one of mocking any more, but Hestor teasing the man as he leaned against him, “Don’t be a hero, yeah?”

 

“You’re dying...your...I can feel...magic just...bleeding out of you, Hestor..” Kaleb held the other man, “I...” he didn’t want to see the faint trickle of blood from the corner of the man’s mouth, but it was hard to miss against his skin.

 

“You can’t save everyone, Hero,” the steel blue eyes slowly opened and Hestor smiled weakly as he shifted his head, “don’t cry, don’t look at me so...” he coughed, making a face in pain, “a smile suits a hero better, I think.”

 

 

 

 


	101. Illusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, I do not own "If I could turn back time"
> 
> one: I'd be pretty old if I could. two: i'd be rich. three...well i'd probably not have time to write fanfiction.
> 
> Song: Cher...and whoever else owns it.
> 
> "Illusion" because, if you've read Star of Bosco, you understand that what happened to Kaleb was...the Illusion that he was always right and Justfied for his actions by Cassiopeia. That created the almost year where Kaleb had to figure out his head, deal with...essentially...The Illusion or curse or whatever you want to call it...and his heart fighting.
> 
> The order of the lyrics...were pretty much where i was during writing, nothing more. though a few times they actually did line up with what was going on.

Kaleb sat, lips drawn into a thin line as he recovered. They’d won the Games, but half of his team hadn’t shown up for the Award Ceremony. He ruminated as he sat with an evening cup of tea, looking out at the sky for a long moment.

 

Who did hestor think he was?  He was well within his rights to protect the other man. He didn’t know it was a dark artefact until after it hit him. He half fumed as he sat there, eyes narrowed. The Guildmaster didn’t care that the man had been telling him things about the Celestial keys. It was **hestor’s** choice. He had no control over what the man did.

 

It was **not** his fault  that Hestor decided to take half of what he said and fixate on it. The man let out a sigh as he sat there, confused about the ache in his chest, despite the anger that was rolling in his emotions.

 

~)~))~~

 

_If I could turn back time_

_If I could find a way_

_I'd take back those words that hurt you_

_And you'd stay_

_I don't know why I did the things I did_

_I don't know why I said the things I said_

  
  


Two Months and not much for word from the four that were off searching for keys. He felt a bit testier than normal as he spent most of his free time in the gym.   He let out a groan as he finished his workout. He wasn’t tired, he felt high strung and worried.

 

The man moved to his suite and cleaned up, running a hand through his hair before he pulled it back into a low tail and looked out over the balcony. As he looked at the training grounds, the ache in his chest grew and he pursed his lips.  A sound that was more a memory than anything else curled over his mind and as his eyes unfocused, he could see what he missed: two light haired mages sparring and going too far; weapons clanging, cursing and dust being churned up and always ending with a crow of ‘free lunch!’ by one or the other followed by the chuckles of those around them.

 

His lips pulled into a faint smile as he stood there, then he hissed as he brought a hand to his head, shaking his head and walking back inside.

  
~)~)~)~)~)~

_Love's like a knife it can cut deep inside_

_Words are like weapons, they wound sometimes_

 

The tension was palpable, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. He’d kept in touch with Lucy and she’d called quite a few times. Every time, she’d obviously been trying to hide Farron and Hestor talking behind her. He didn’t know why it hurt so much, but looking past her in each conversation, the few times, he’d seen them act close.

 

_I didn't really mean to hurt you_

_I didn't want to see you go_

 

 

It ached more and he couldn’t help the snappish conversation at the meal. He’d not had much of an appetite as he had heard Farron’s car pull away.  It had taken quite a few reassurances to Mister Elan that it wasn’t the food and simply his appetite was lacking. The Ache in his chest had only grown.

 

_I know I made you cry, but baby_

 

He could feel the sorrow in the air, a singular point that made his magic curl out. He found his brother sitting with Hestor out on a chaise, comforting the man and anger welled up in his chest, the pain in his head contrasting with it before he pulled his magic back and then turned. It was a single swipe of his hand and the glass coffee table he had shattered.

 

The Sound startled Kaleb and he looked at the ruined table, barely hearing Thane but absently reassuring him that it was just a headache and he’d accidentally lashed out. That had gotten him a reproachful look before he moved to help clean up the mess he’d made. He wasn’t technically wrong; between the headache and the burning ache in his chest, that had made him lash out.

 

 

_If I could turn back time_

_If I could find a way_

_I'd take back those words that hurt you_

_And you'd stay_

 

~)~)~))~~) 

 

 

He sat in his office and he could hear the party continue downstairs, he could feel the strong emotions and he put his head in his hands. His fingers curled into his scalp as he wished the pounding in his head would go away, or the burning in his chest. He’d not felt this bad when he’d found out about Zen, Lucy and Vander. It had ached, oh, how it had ached, knowing he’d missed an opportunity.

 

Maybe if he’d gone with them for the Lunar new year instead of sending Vander, things would have turned out differently…. His mind trailed off, eyes closing as he went through the memories that Lucy had let him see.

 

It was a few moments before he was pushing back with a startled yell. He’d expected his imagination to drift where he’d take the place of one of his brothers, not have Hestor writing beneath him. His hand went out, swiping across his desk and sending things scattered to the floor as he panted. He hadn’t been toying with Hestor, the ache in his chest went away the closer he was to him.

 

Panting, the guildmaster of white sea moved to the window and looked out, shuddering  as he let his head rest against the cool glass. The pain was what was making him cry, or so he tried to convince himself. It wasn’t the fact that he knew, with just a very small touch to their minds that Hestor and Farron were going to his brother’s place that night.

 

All he had to do to stop the other was tell him that he **wasn’t** playing with him. A few words. That would have been all it would have taken. He wasn’t stupid, Hestor was looking for his trust and he’d failed once to show trust in the mage’s abilities. How it ached as he slowly sunk to his knees. He murmured as he sat there, “i’m such a fucking moron…” a bitter laugh left him, “He was right.”

 

_If I could reach the stars_

_I'd give 'em all to you_

_Then you'd love me, love me, like you used to do_

_If I could turn back time_

 

~)~)~)~)~

 

“What the hell, Farron,” Kaleb scowled as he looked at his brother.

 

The Ambassador sat there, blue eyes boring into lavender, “I’m just saying, he’d be an asset and I wouldn’t mind him at my side all the time.”

 

“He...he’s stubborn and headstrong, it wouldn’t work,” He frowned at his brother, shaking his head.

 

Farron shrugged as he sat there, “maybe not...but...he’s coming over here right now.”

 

Kaleb took a sharp breath and felt the ache in his chest again. His head had mostly stopped hurting and he watched as the Celestial mage walked over with a book.

 

Hestor put on a polite smile as he got to the table, “Farron, Master Kaleb.”

 

Kaleb felt his eye twitch just a little bit, and the ache grow and burn as he tried to quickly think out a plan. Something.

 

_My world was shattered I was torn apart_

_Like someone took a knife and drove it_

_Deep in my heart_

 

The small smile Hestor had on his lips while he spoke to his brother didn’t help Kaleb at all, “Thank you, Farron, for letting us borrow this. It’s been an immeasurable help.”

 

Farron smiled as he took the book, “you’re welcome. It was one of my mother’s books that I’ve kept with me…” He paused, looking almost sheepish, “In hindsight, I probably should have let Lucy see it before now…”

 

Hestor chuckled and shrugged, “it’s fine, it’s been good reading, good relaxation.”

 

Kaleb pursed his lips a bit, watching the two and then taking a breath, “you four are leaving again soon?”

 

Hestor’s features hardened a bit as he looked at Kaleb, “Yes, Master Kaleb, we’ll be **cavorting** around the landscape to find more keys starting tomorrow.”

 

The Mindbender flinched a bit, blurting out before the small ache that was starting at the base of his skull got too bad,  “...I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean it that way…”

 

The Celestial Mage arched an eyebrow slightly, “then what did you mean by it?”

 

Kaleb felt that same pressure again at the back of his skull, pushing past it and taking a breath, “I was concerned and I said things in a bad way.” He paused, “I missed our talks...and…”

 

_You walked out that door I swore that I didn't care_

_But I lost everything darling then and there_

 

Hestor looked a bit unimpressed as he stared at Kaleb for a moment, then let out a faint sigh. “behind us. The past.”

 

Kaleb nodded, a slightly hopeful look in his eyes as he sat there, “hopefully, we can discuss things more, when you four get back?”

 

Hestor debated as he stood there, “after we get things settled down, yes. It normally takes a few days for us to sort things.”

 

The mindbender could feel the pain radiating from the other and it seemed to resonate with the ache in his chest. He pushed to work through the pain, reminding himself to talk to Cris, again, in a little while. Kaleb nodded once and felt his lips curl into a small smile, “Alright, I look forward to our talks.”

 

“Good, now that this issue is settled…” Farron spoke, making both of them break eye contact.

 

Kaleb’s eyes narrowed on his brother, sensing that the man was up to something. He couldn’t pinpoint it, but when Farron spoke again, he felt his world almost drop out beneath him.

 

_Too strong to tell you I was sorry_

_Too proud to tell you I was wrong_

_I know that I was blind, and darling_

 

“I’ll see you for dinner at that Midish place by the consulate?” Farron tilted his head, “I’ll have the food ready for take out.”

 

Hestor chuckled and smiled softly, “of course. I’ll bring the scotch.” he waved and turned, “see you then.”

 

_If I could turn back time_

_If I could find a way_

_I'd take back those words that hurt you_

 

 

Kaleb let out a low growl when Hestor got far enough away from the table and hissed, “what is that?”

 

Farron slowly arched an eyebrow, “A standing plan, Kaleb. We discuss  what is found in different books on Celestial Magic and the keys twice a week.”

 

The mindbender leaned towards Farron and made sure to keep his voice low, “I’m calling you out, you just said, not ten minutes ago you were thinking of asking him to promise!”

 

Farron picked up his drink and brought it to his lips, the movement was doing nothing more than actually wasting time. When the empty glass was sat down, his brother stood up and looked down at him. Kaleb felt dread wash over him when Farron leaned down, speaking so only the other could hear, “I’m fine with mending a broken heart...even if he’s told you everything, Kaleb, I’ll take one of the tenderest men I’ve met..” He pulled back, eyes cold, “because it’s a damn shame what you did to him.”

 

Kaleb sat there, watching after his brother. It took all his control to keep his calm, outward demeanor, but he felt like he’d just been thrown through glass onto a field full of salt. Everything ached.

 

When Genbu had been summoned, it was as if all the pressure was gone from his head and everything was much more clear. He’d apologized to Lucy, yes, but everything he’d done, said and how he’d acted seemed to slam into him and he’d felt utterly ashamed. He had to make it right. He didn’t know how he was going to make it alright, but he was going to try. Try as hard as he could.

 

~)~)~)~)~)~

 

 

_And you'd stay_

_If I could reach the stars_

_I'd give 'em all to you_

_Then you'd love me, love me, like you used to do, oh_

  


Kaleb watched Bickslow, Lucy and Hestor for a few moments and just standing there, he felt a warmth in his chest. It still ached, but just seeing the man nestled against a pillow with the sunset starting to curl over him made a warm feeling come to his chest.

 

Love. Stronger than what he had felt for Lucy, stronger than what he felt for his family. He loved him. Kaleb realized he’d wasted almost a year because of the sharp pain in his head, but as he stood there, watching the light play across the male Celestial Mage, there was no question in his mind why it hurt to think of him with someone else, why he had been ready to punch Farron for just saying he was thinking of asking the other to Promise him.

 

Kaleb loved his family and saw no reason to ever fight for the sake of fighting. He took a breath, steeling himself and then knocking on the doorframe. He’d beg if he had to...but he would try to get Hestor to give him another chance.


	102. Magnificent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A random AU, inspired by Desna's moving misfortune story

Xally loved her brothers. She really did, but there were times like right then, that she wondered what was going on in their heads, or rather where their common sense went. They’d spent the morning moving her things into a small beachfront one bedroom cottage that she was glad was actually rent to own. She had fallen in love with it and well, getting things moved so she could set up a clinic in a small, beach side village? That was a dream.

 

What wasn’t a dream was her brother’s forgetting what they were doing as there was laughter from the beach.she had to admit herself that the light haired...couple, she wasn’t sure but they seemed close, that where racing down the beach on a set of horses, both black as the deepest night, making them stand out against the pale sand.

 

The clang of her washer hitting the ground and not going down the ramp had everyone staring, and it was loud enough that both light haired heads whipped around. Both slowing the horses before turning them and moving towards the grassy area that settled against her cottage.

 

“How? That...was brand new,” Xally sighed as she rubbed her forehead.

 

Zen opened his mouth and shrugged with a slight grin, “I think we were admiring the scenery.”

 

Farron came out of the house with Vander, the two having put the boxes they’d carried in away and both looked at the scene. “...you broke it, I’m pretty sure.”

 

The two climbed down with an ease that only came with being familiar with horses and the small woman smiled softly as she held out a hand, “hey, i’m lucy, this is my cousin Hestor…” she made a face, “ooh...that’s a nasty spill.”  
  
Xally smiled faintly, “it is...do you know if there’s a repair place about?”

 

Hestor made a slight face as he brushed his silvery hair out of his face, “about an hour down the road, but I do work there a few times a week when i’m not needed at the Ranch. I can take a look at it for you.”  
  
Xally rolled her eyes as she realized **all** her brothers were watching the two and held out a hand, “I’d like that...when do you think you’ll be able to?” she better took in both of them, the small, yet curvy Lucy had pearls in her hair, woven into intricate braids that fell down her back in a ponytail; Hestor was tall, but not as tall as a few of her brothers and if the tight pants and vest he wore said anything, the muscles under his skin were probably used to swim and there were a few deep clam shells clipped into the silvery hair. Given that they were in a beachtown, that wouldn’t shock her.

 

“This was the last run for the day,” the man crossed his arms on his chest.

  
  
Lucy smiled as she shook Xally’s hand, “why don’t we go...and get things...pizza, tools..”

 

“I can get the pizza,” Xally said, “as thanks…”

 

Lucy chuckled, “don’t sweat it!” The two turned, speaking in Stellan for a moment before swinging back up onto the black horses, “we’ll be back in an hour! Get that inside and out in the open!”

 

Xally watched the two go and blinked slowly, “I didn’t realize people were that friendly here..”

 

Vander grinned, “enough to pull Cris, Zen and kaleb out of the fire.” he chuckled, “though...damn..they both looked damn fine on those horses…and they had some magnificent **ass** ets.”

 

“Dibs.” came three voices and Vander started laughing heartily as his three brothers started glowering at one another.

 

 


	103. Illogical

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Been putting this one shot off until...some things were revealed in Divine fire.
> 
> Now i feel it's safe...and less spoiler-y.

**Illogical**

Ganier Layla Pradesh, at ten and a half, was well used to her brother’s peculiar nature. However, when sparring, it was always one hell of a fight, until he got into it with one of his favorite spirits of the Ivory keys: Gabriel.  The fact that they shared a name didn’t help. She let out a resigned sigh as she looked up at the sky, shaking her head with a mumbled ‘why me?’

 

“you were named after me,” her twin said, his wine eyes dancing as he ran a hand through his hair. Once it had, like hers, been blonder than anything, but now the black and red had taken over his hair, leaving the underlayer of his bangs blond, her own had long faded to a mahogany with a ghosting of blonde growing behind her right ear.

 

“I beg to differ,” The archangel stared down at the boy.

 

It had been slightly comical the first few times. Now it was just semi-trying to hear the same argument over and over. While they had both inherited some of their mother’s magic, her brother had more celestial magic in his blood than she did. Celestial Spells she could do, but she’d gotten a more mild form of the magic, intuitive access to the casting type spells that the few Celestial mages could tap into. Her brother, with his shadowquip magic, had dove into summoning like…well it was water to swim in, and he adored swimming.

 

They’d gone through plenty in their short years of life, both of them, and their cousins, semi-hunted by dark mages, Zeref and Peregrande. He’d become adept in his fine tuning of his magic and her? Well, she was the start of what was the next generation of Archangels. Her wings, she was told, were a sight to behold with silver threading through the black feathers. She didn’t take shit from anyone and of the five children currently born into the Pradesh line; there was only one quieter than she was: Hayden.

 

With his holy fire magic, one would expect him to be explosive, but no, he was as calm as his mother and the two got along well, as she was a reserved person.

 

“You’re an overgrown peacock!” Her twin’s voice interrupted her thoughts and she slowly looked over at her brother and the archangel as they continued to argue, yet again, over who was named after who. “You were obviously named after me.”

 

“I’m older than you are,” The archangel narrowed his eyes.

 

The boy grinned, one that was very much like Papa Vander, “it takes a long time for this awesomeness to be created. Duh.”

 

Ganier let out a sigh and looked at the sky again, it was going to be one of those days. She could tell. She breezed past the two, patting her brother’s arm before she made a beeline towards her younger cousins. There was only a two year gap between her, Hayden and his brother, so she was closest to them. Her other cousin was just seven and Nijel was far more than just quiet, but read a lot and was amazingly articulate. The chocolate hair, the steel blue eyes, the pale skin that took forever to tan when they were in the sun, the slight tilt and gentle shape of his eyes…well…while she knew to be wary of Hayden when he was being pensive…Nijel was  **always** pensive, she’d never seen him actually tantrum, though, out of all of them, he was the most likely to pull his archangel parent, especially if things were getting weird. Though, she supposed, having your father be the Master of White Sea had its perks, when he appeared, everything stopped, especially the few times he’d ended up being nude.

 

Uncle Kaleb was a bit of a doter, much to Nijel’s dismay, but when he was overwhelmed, he would always drag his father to him to be held. She smiled as she settled against the tree that her cousins were at and smiled as she leaned her head on Hayden’s arm. Part of her wanted to sulk about being short, but when she could curl up against anyone and look ‘delicate’ before surging forward like a force of nature? She was going to take it.

 

Hayden wasn’t an archangel, though, when his magic was brought to bear, the fire that he wielded could form wings and he used that to stay aloft with herself, Nijel and Nero. Her brother, if he wanted to, could use one of his spirits, but the boy normally grinned and she felt him sliding into the shadows of her wings and left it be.

 

All four children watched as Gabe continued to argue with the archangel in what they considered an illogical and age old fight. It really wasn’t. They weren’t  **that** old and her brother had only been contracted with the ivory key a few years. She half wondered why her mother had given her brother the Ivory keys when they came across them, but as she watched her brother put his hands behind his head and grin up at the archangel, she realized…it was their mother’s way of protecting him…and probably teaching him bad habits, because the Archangels were  **rarely** anything but having all sorts of egos and they were, if she wanted to admit it to only herself, a bit sexy. She supposed the thing about wanting to find someone that was like one of her papas was right…and she couldn’t help but watch the Archangel as he argued with her brother, eyes roving over him before she was nudged and blinked out of her thoughts.

 

Her amethyst eyes blinked owlishly before she looked between Nijel and Hayden, noticing their grins and she rolled her eyes, elbowing both of them lightly as she blushed. She wasn’t ashamed of her thoughts and apparently an attraction that both could sense, no, it was more getting caught ogling her brother’s spirit that had brought the heat to her cheeks.

 

Hayden smiled softly, “I’m sure if you asked…”

 

Ganier rolled her eyes and then smacked her cousin’s stomach, “idiot, it’s not like that...he’s just easy on the eyes.”

 

“I cannot let you burn me up, nor can I resist you. No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed.” Hayden spoke as he looked to the tome he was reading and flipped a page.

 

“A.S Byatt,” Nijel said as he read his own book on the other side of Hayden from her, “I think I’ve a quote that’s more fitting.”

 

“oh?” Hayden arched an eyebrow.

 

“I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can’t do anything but think about him. At night I dream of him, all day I wait to see him, and when I do see him my heart turns over and I think I will faint with desire.” The chocolate haired youth grinned as he sat there. After a moment, he closed his book and stood, “lunch.”

 

Ganier watched him move towards the guild hall and huffed, “cheeky.”

 

Hayden chuckled and kissed her temple, his auburn blond hair playing with hers, “Uncle Kaleb says he gets that from Uncle Hes.”

 

“No, pretty sure he gets his time dependant OCD from uncle Hes,” Ganier grinned slightly as she sat there, looking up into baby blue eyes.

 

The two shared a quiet laugh before she curled against him and yawned, “Now if he could stop this argument….”

 

Hayden murmured, “I’d say it’s going to be all the time. Until the archangel gives in. he’s stubborn like that. Like Aunt Lucy.”

 


	104. How I met Your Father/Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> because...Ming and Kiran. 
> 
> *stares at muses on crack*

Ming Xing was a quiet woman, even for one of the Mages of the Temple of Anubis. She knew they were captives; She did, her brothers did, her two sisters did.  There was so much she wanted to do and knew that she would never, ever get to do it. 

 

The news that her cousin, The High Priestess of Mehturt had given birth to a boy that was so calm he didn’t even cry when he was hungry, but let out a soft whimpers. She should be happy, but at the same time, the Temple concubine halls were starting to fill up and they were to start producing the next generation for the temple. Her heart ached as she yearned for more.

 

As the younger of the three sisters, she was expected to actually give birth within the next year and that wasn’t what she wanted.

 

“Did you hear?!” She slowly turned her head, looking at her youngest brother, he was eleven and full of energy that always brought a very small smile to her lips.

 

“Did I hear what, Luo?” She walked to him and then carefully started to straighten his clothing from what she assumed was a run through the temple halls.

 

The boy grinned up at her and his steely eyes were dancing, “The keys want a water festival!”

 

Her own eyes lit up. She knew what that meant: getting out of the temple grounds. She couldn’t help the curl of her own lips. At Eighteen, she was not the eldest, but she’d come into ‘adulthood’ and it was time that more duties would be put upon her. “...that’s a boat ride.”

 

Luo nodded as he grinned, “it is! The main family is getting it set up! I’ve never seen the ocean! Is it pretty?!”

 

Ming gave a faint chuckle and then carefully lead him over to a window seat before moving to pluck a book off the shelf and open it, “The sea is where all life began.” At the furrowed look on his face, she kissed his temple lightly, “The Sea of Stars, yes, but it was a Sea. The great gods took from the sea of stars and then created Earth Land. in their infinite wisdom, they first created the land and the Seas, filling each with creatures of all sorts.”

 

“Keys?”

 

Ming clicked her tongue, “yes, eventually. When Magic threaded through some humans, yet they could not use magic like others. Keys were formed to give them a medium to channel their magic. Many keys were made, different sets of all varieties…”

 

“...The Hall?”

 

Her features went sad and then blank, “The Hall was created for Celestial Judgement. Where humans can be fooled, or swayed by honeyed words, the hall was created to judge what cannot lie: the Soul. Our Family was entrusted to that, we pay a great price, yes, but...it is our duty.”

 

Luo looked at Ming for a moment, “...mm.”

 

She gave him a small smile, “enough. Off with you, go get ready, I am sure that we will be going soon enough.”

 

~)~)~)~)~)

 

The Sky had been clear, as clear as an unused and polished lacrama of the highest quality. As the sun went down and the festival started out on the water, something had happened. A storm had suddenly appeared, throwing the ship through suddenly harsh waves.

 

Ming had stared in horror as Lightning struck the ship over and over again, creating fires and explosions as fireworks were hit. It was chaos and she let out a yell as she fell overboard and into the choppy waves, head being hit by a board as she hit the water.

 

The next thing she knew, something was pressing on her chest and she was coughing and hacking while being rolled onto her side. She’d never heard her magic sing until she opened her eyes and looked up into eyes that were so unlike her own.

 

“Are you alright?” The voice was...calm, steady and deep and seemed to soothe everything in her, every frayed nerve that had been on edge for the last few years.

 

It took her a few moments but eventually, she blinked out of her daze and nodded as she was helped to sit up. Her brow furrowed a bit as she went over what happened. She slowly looked around and debated, “I...feel like there...should have been...others…”

 

The man nodded, “There were.”

 

Were. An Omnious word and she brought a nail to her lips, biting on it in thought, “I…”

 

“Do you remember where you are from?”

 

She swallowed and murmured, “nowhere I wish to go back to.” she looked into the deep eyes, hearing the soft sound of steps on the sand, “...nowhere I remember.”

 

The man realized a trapped person when he saw one and then nodded as he stood, helping her up, “well, you are in Bosco right now..”

 

“Kiran!”

 

The man turned and smiled, “Zuri, I found a survivor.”

 

“Good! That’s good!” The large man grinned down at Ming and then blinked as she seemed to half hide behind the other man, “oh...sorry.”

 

“She’s a bit disoriented and doesn’t seem to remember much,” Kiran slowly looked around, “any luck on anyone else?”

 

Zuri shook his head, “none alive.”

 

“How...many?” Ming spoke softly, eyes not looking off the sand.

 

“Counting you? We’ve found two others.”

 

She couldn’t go back, wouldn’t go back, not with her magic acting the way it was.

 

“Do you...know where-”

 

“No,” The sudden answer made Zuri slowly take a step back as the steely eyes looked up at him. “...all I remember is my name, Ming.” 

 

Both men knew a lie when they heard it, but this small, water logged and sand covered woman looked like she would do anything to not go back. They both blinked as she ripped the clothes she was wearing off, half wondering how the heavy fabric hadn’t drowned her but as she stood there in a light undergown, she stared down at the fabric almost longingly before her features turned as steely as her eyes.

 

“Well,” Zuri sighed, “Someone’s got to help her get on her feet…”

 

Kiran arched an eyebrow, “I found her.” the man’s lips quirked a bit as he arched an eyebrow in challenge and both men snorted as the woman stood there. Kiran sounded  **almost** possessive.

 

“Found. Yes. keep?” She slowly arched an eyebrow, “we shall see.” She waved a hand, “lead the way.”

 

The two men laughed, even looking like she did, the woman had a bearing of something more than just a woman. Someone raised well to do things that they couldn’t comprehend. She took a few steps, hissing as she limped a bit, and huffed before pulling up the undergown and revealing a pouch. She carefully opened it and then pulled a key out.

 

“Open the gate of the Little horse, Equuleus,” they felt the magic and then blinked as a black horse seemed to appear from a burst of golden magic. The small woman moved to climb onto the back of the small horse that seemed to fit the tiny woman’s stature almost perfectly and she looked at them, managing to look regal even then as she brushed her hair back, “well?”

 

Both men realized she was most likely Stellan. It didn’t take anything to put it together then. The two shrugged and started to lead her along the beach, Zuri noticing for the first time ever, Kiran seemed to be a bit more gentle than normal and stand just a bit closer to the woman than he’d seen the large man ever do.

 

~)~)~)~)~)~)~

 

Zuri knew Kiran was a gentle man, even for a diver, it was almost like the water never fought against him and, given that, unlike most in their village, he was not blessed with water magic. The man, many wagered, had some strain of gem-make magic, that allowed the man to dive quickly to know which clams had pearls and which didn’t...and the man also managed to find different sea gems that had been pushed up through the water with ease.

 

Kiran denied it all, simply citing it was luck, but in a village where everyone had magic and he brushed most of it off as luck? They knew he wasn’t hiding it on purpose, but no one would just come out and ask.

 

Many watched as the man seemed to draw the small Stellan woman out of her shell...as much as she’d allow. She was standoffish and distant at times, but she’d calm down when the large man was closer. They all watched as the woman had one day been dragging a piece of driftwood up the beach.

 

It was a curious thing, but they watched her over nearly three months fuss and get frustrated with the wood and then talk to the older carver in the village with more humility than they’d thought she was possible to ask for help. 

 

It was three months later when they all saw a look of soft joy on her features, adn Zuri saw his friend’s shift. He’d been adamant that while he would help her get back on her feet, he wasn’t going to press for anything, but seeing the woman in an outfit that she’d obviously sewn while talking with the carpenter about the massive stringed instrument, a Guzheng they’d later learn it was called, that he’d been making? He watched his friend fall, and fall hard.

 

The deep red and gold of the brocade held a corset around her waist and she’d done some sewing, which everyone realized she was highly good at, in return for some whale bones, which they couldn’t figure out until then what she wanted them for. The corset had an attached hood and half sleeves that hugged the slender arms. The pattern was of the stars on a red that could only be described as sunset and the deep blue plain skirt she wore simply made it look like she was rising from the ocean at dusk.

 

She smiled faintly at the Carver’s son, Paolo, whom she’d been talking to and many suspected there was something there, he nodded as he stood by a drum. The woman closed her eyes and on that winter solstice, Zuri knew his friend had fully fallen in love.  Given the general temperament of the woman, they hadn’t expected the fast beat of the song that was plucked by those delicate fingers nor the way her hands moved fluidly and quickly along the strings. It seemed to be a piece that she knew well as her eyes closed.

 

No one had ever asked for details on her life, but this was a skill that they knew the common Stellan person didn’t have. They had Artisans of all walks and while generally the people knew basics, this was something that had been honed, for many years. When the song ended, the woman took a breath and then flushed at the clapping. 

 

Zuri watched in amusement over the next few months as the small woman gave his friend a run for his quiet brand of romance. The Entire village did actually; Quiet, Reserved, calm and strong Kiran was flustered quite often, especially when the woman was swimming.  She didn’t dive into the deeper waters, but she was helped by a few of the women and her silver hair always seemed to become a glowing cloud beneath the water. While she couldn’t dive, they often saw a large Stellan koi busily moving through the water and actually plucking small dusty stones off the sea bed, sometimes right out of Kiran’s hands.

 

It had probably started as a game, but it became more over the weeks, as if the woman was flirting with him. A full moon was what had solidified it, the two in the water, the woman swimming as best she could away, finding small inlets to hide in and the night ended with him asking her to promise with him. 

 

She’d given him a smile that seemed only for him, that always cast a slight darkening of her eyes and asked him what had taken so long. It had made many around them laugh, but they realized that the two were fairly suited, despite different backgrounds. It would be less than a year before their marriage on the Winter Solstice and while many still wondered about what secrets the woman kept, Kiran assured them that if they were ever a problem for the village, she would say something.

  
  
  


~)~)~)~)~

 

Kaleb let out a hum as he sat there, listening to tale that was told by the two very calm adults and pursed his lips slightly, “I’d say I’m sorry for your loss all those years ago…”

 

Ming arched an eyebrow at the mindbender, “I am still saddened by the loss, but…” she gently let her hand rest on Kiran’s leg, “it was the will of Magic. Nine lives lost, but…” 

 

Kaleb nodded, not about to wake Hestor as the man had come back from talking over a com with Laxus and just curled up in his lap before seeming to doze off some five minutes into the story. The mindbender brought a hand up and then gently ran it through the silver hair, “to you, it was worth the price.”

 

“It was a very high price,” Ming spoke softly, “but to get away from that cage? To find love? I miss my siblings very much, but I know they would want me to be happy.” The woman sat there quietly for a moment, “I am also unsure if I should feel offended, he falls asleep quickly every time we attempt to tell the story more in depth.”

  
  


Kaleb shook his head slightly, “He’s taken over dealing with Fairy Tail when they need something, he and Rowan get along well and both know how the other works...and how to weedle things out of people without them realizing it.”

 

Kiran made a face, “I pity him, having to deal with Fiorians.”

 

“Don’t we all?” Ming arched an eyebrow, “they’ve no care for anything but power you can see.”

 

Hestor let out a low grumble of annoyance and opened one eye, “you are all talking while I am attempting to nap, I take direct offense to conversation right now.”

  
  
  



	105. Have you...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so...this little gem threw me out of bed at 3:30 this morning to be written, after my body decided at 1:30 it was bedtime. took two hours for this to roll in my head before it demanded to be out.
> 
> I think **every** mage deals with depression, Even those strong ones, but some just don't...show it. 
> 
> Lucy: Hides it behinds smiles and helping people  
> Yukino: Very, very similiar to Lucy, only less boisterous in her 'happy'.  
> Hestor: "Hello, go the fuck away. I'm fabulous and perfect, bitches."  
> Xavier: *small smile and cuddles*
> 
>  
> 
> it's all in how a person acts, I think. if anyone wants to know: No, not set in any particular story i'm writing, and Van didn't have to be the one that was asking...I'm just trying to keep his scheming ass occupied while I write other things.

“Hey, Hes?”

 

The Silver haired mage in question let out a sigh and put down his tablet. Kaleb was at a summit and while he dearly wanted to be by the man’s side, he’d opted to stay and keep things running semi-smoothly. “What is it, Vander?”

 

The Shadowquip was frowning as he sat on one of the lounges and that was a bit thing that let the Celestial Mage know something was up, “....have you ever thought about killing yourself?”

 

“Should I call Ar-”

 

“NO!” Vander scowled, “I’m not! I just...this last mission was weird.”

 

Hestor stared at Vander for a moment and then picked the tablet up, flipping through it for a moment, “Retrieval of...oh...I see…” He took a breath as he sat there for a moment, “Talk to me. I may be an asshole…”

 

Vander gave a small smile, “But you’re our asshole.” He let his head fall back, “so...yanno...it was all sorts of weird, like how the hell did all of these teens get there and shit..and...the more I was under...the more I saw.” He made a face, “some of them were damn near nasty tempered, others withdrawn...but…”

 

Hestor stood, moving to the cabinet on the side of his office and pouring two glasses of scotch before he moved to the lounge and held one out, “but…?”

 

“...They’d plead...plead to get ahold of something, anything so that they could kill themselves,” Vander frowned, “I…”

 

“It’s hard to understand,” Hestor sat on the coffee table and looked at Vander as the shadowquip took the held out glass. He sighed as he slowly swirled the drink in his glass, “we all know there is magic around us. Everywhere, correct?”

 

Vander nodded a bit, frowning and sipping his drink, “Yeah, but that-”

 

“Hush, listen for once. We all learned about depression growing up, but sometimes...it’s an outside magical influence that does it...or just...a person’s own self-doubt of whom they truly are,” Hestor shrugged, “mages are highly susceptible to this. Our magics tip just a bit too far to one side…”

 

Vander pursed his lips, “and they start down the road to becoming a dark mage.”

 

The silver haired mage nodded, “and a lot of times...those mages never come back, they go dark...they enter dark guilds...and they’re eventually killed for the darkness...even if...it’s not their own fault in the beginning.” he gave the other a small smile, “you need to keep smiling, just...sometimes we can’t help or save them all, Vander, we have to sit there and watch because...we know they can’t be helped...and it hurts that they don’t have someone there for them, someone to offer that hand to drag them out, but...we’re only human as well...we make mistakes, we...have to take easier routes sometimes simply because...there is no other way.”

 

“You’re talking like you’ve been there.”

 

Hestor made a face and stood after draining his glass, “do I need to call someone to talk to you in mental health?”

 

“Hes.”

 

“What?” The silver haired mage sighed, sounding tired, “everyone has those thoughts from time to time, you idiot.”

  


“Yeah, but yo-”

 

“But me nothing,” Hestor snapped, “perhaps, if I hadn’t been befriended by, what I thought at the time, were seven utterly idiotic siblings….and then drug along when I helped rescued their brother…” He shrugged, “maybe I would have turned dark, maybe I would have...killed myself.” He sighed softly and a ran a hand through his hair, “I’ve been there quite a few times, Vander...but someone was always there, to light the way back to where I didn’t need to think of harming myself or feeling like I was on a razor’s edge.”

 

Vander pursed his lips, “you? You’re a self-assured cocky ass bastard all of the time.”

 

Hestor let out a soft laugh and shook his head, the sound was bittersweet to vander’s ears and he studied the prim man for a long moment as he rinsed the empty scotch glass, “I assure you, I’m human, just like everyone around us.” he shook his head, “you know the issues with my keys…” he turned and looked at Vander, leaning against the counter, “each Celestial Mage is different, our souls, our magic react differently to...everything we do, every key we come into contact.”

 

“Well yeah, I mean, Lucy’s magic just…” Vander trailed off, brow furrowing.

 

Hestor nodded and smiled, “She always feels light, warm, someone that most would enjoy spending time around. She’s tactile, enjoys touching, being close to people, trying to help their worries go away.” He watched the shadowquip, “She’s a beacon in the darkness for almost everyone she comes into contact with, unless they are well and truly immersed so far into it that there is no way they can see that light.” His voice was soft, “my keys...have much, much darker, much more dangerous magicial feelings to them. It can be absolutely stifling at times…”

Hestor took a deep breath and pushed off, straightening his shirt, “when we find...someone that we love, that we will devote ourselves to...it lifts us up...provided we can connect with that person.” his voice softened as he moved to his desk and ran a finger slowly along the surface, “but when we deny it...refuse to...act on those feelings because...it’s all we can do to keep our own heads above the dark churning waters of the magic?” he let out a soft sigh and shook his head, “it can take years, decades to work past that, to feel we are worthy of having someone that is that beacon in the darkness for us.”

 

Hestor murmured, “so we..fight to keep ourselves up, yet feel the waters trying to pull us down, reaching for that light, yearning and wanting it…” he sighed and made a face, “and in our darkest time...that person is there, not knowing why, but there like a lifeline.” he snorted faintly, “and so we cling to them as best we can, feeling...like we don’t deserve that light, we want it, Stars and Gods how we want it….” he looked at Vander, “because how can someone tainted..deserve that Light...let alone that Love?”

 

Vander blinked slowly as he sat there, looking at his drink and slowly sipping it, “yeah but…”

 

Hestor shook his head, “feeling the love he had for me, when we finally mated...I spent a lot of time, Vander, denying myself, feeling that...I wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t perfect enough...I still don’t some days, I feel lacking in myself, but…” he shrugged, “The world need not see that side of me, they don’t need to.” He smiled faintly, “i’m just as flawed as the rest of the world...I just don’t let them see it.” he slowly arched an eyebrow, “now...if you don’t have-”

 

“Shit wouldn’t have been the same without you around,” Vander said as he finished his drink and stood, “...no one ever wants people to kill themselves...that’s...wrong. Everyone needs someone...or something to actually lean on….and...I’m glad you found Kaleb.”

 

Hestor smiled faintly, “I knew when I was eleven, Vander.”

 

Wine red eyes slowly blinked “the fuck man!? Why did you wait so damn long?!”

 

Hestor shrugged, “the Hall wasn’t complete, Vander...one wrong step...and I would have spiraled…” his voice softened, “I wasn’t about to drag Kaleb down...that road where...he would have to make a choice between his heart and his duty as Guildmaster, as A Knight, as a Wizard Saint.”

 

Vander saw the bitterness in the steely eyes, “yeah, well, you were our friend, we wouldn’t have le-” He blinked as the Celestial mage just...popped out of existence in a flare of white holy fire, “God dammit…”

 

~))~)~)~)~

 

Hestor slowly arched an eyebrow as he felt strong arms around him, “what is it?”

 

“You felt…”

 

He smiled warmly and shook his head, “revisiting old things, Vander had issues on a mission, wanted some perspective...it got me thinking, that’s all.” He leaned up, gently kissing the mindbender, “so relax...I’m not going anywhere, I’m not slipping back down into that pit, I was just...thinking of the state I had been in all those years ago...it’s still overwhelming at times.” The mage let out an indulgent huff as he felt the face buried in his hair and slowly wrapped his arms around Kaleb, “So...stop and calm down...I’m fine.”

 

  
  



	106. On Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a small talk of Celestial mages
> 
> and general chaos that seems to come with them.

Lucy had been trying to talk with Hestor for awhile, curious about a few things and when she’d finally found him, it was not the normally composed, waspish man she was used to. No, he was sitting with a beautiful woman with blue hair and the two seemed to be enjoying some sort of seafood salad...and she could  **smell** honey. That, that didn’t shock her, no, it was that the man looked like he’d stuffed far too much food into his mouth at once and was letting out a moan of joy.

 

The woman laughed, “oh, come on. It’s just urchin and squid salad.”

 

The silver haired man chewed and then swallowed, pointing his fork at the woman, “that you got from my mother.”

 

“Well...yes…” She eyed the container and then leaned over, “lemme taste.”

 

He let out a low growl “no, you have the one your mother made.” 

 

The two seemed to struggle for a moment, the male putting his hand on the woman’s head as he leaned back and tried to keep the container away from her and lucy’s giggle made both of them stop. They blinked slowly and Hestor cleared his throat before he composed himself, “Lucy, how may we help you?"

 

She knew much about the man in front of him: he came from a coastal city, where divers harvested rare clams in regulated amounts, producing some of the most expensive pearls in Earthland; she knew he was standoffish, prickly at times, but his roots in Stella, made him a wealth of knowledge. The man had so many different theories and many other things that rattled in his head that she loved picking his mind...as long as he was in a nice enough mood to talk.

 

“I was hoping to discuss our magic…”

 

Hestor looked at her, then at the bluenette he was with and stood, “right, enjoy your meal, Melina, secret magic discussion.”

 

The woman, Melina, slowly arched an eyebrow, “have...fun.”

 

As they walked away, Lucy had a flat look on her face, “you just used me to get away from her, didn’t you?”   
  
The man shrugged, taking a few bites out of the container as he walked, “yes, and?”

 

“I feel used,” Lucy huffed as she looked up at the man.

 

He pointed his fork at her, “you asked to talk, I just took the opportunity.”

 

The blonde let out a faint sigh, “I suppose I walked into that...so…”

 

“No talking yet. We need a secure place.” The man simply breezed into the guildhall, leading her towards one of the Privacy Alcoves.

 

“Uh…”

 

“Complete privacy, no one can hear what goes on inside, good place for a nap, if my normal spot is full of people,” The man said as he waited for her to move in and then slid in himself, pulling the curtain and activating the privacy runes. He sat down and went back to his meal, waving his fork after a moment, “well?”

 

Lucy pursed her lips as she stared at the man for a long moment, “how do you know when you’ve found...I don’t know...someone to love?”

 

Hestor stared at her for a long moment, and she swore that he was going to get up and walk out. The man took a deep breath and a few more bites of his food, “you’re drawn to them, can talk to them about...anything, can’t stop yourself really...why?” he narrowed his eyes.

 

“well...I mean...are you sure I can...talk about them...about it all?”

 

Hestor arched an eyebrow, “yes, you won’t feel that...strange sting that you get right before you normally say something you shouldn’t.” his eyes were still narrowed however, “who.”

 

Lucy leaned back at the hostile look in the steel blue eyes and squeaked, “Zen.”

 

The silver haired mage seemed to relax almost instantly and then took a bite from the container, “go on.”

 

“...do you kno-”

 

“Yes. I have for over ten years.”

 

“And-”

 

Hestor narrowed his eyes, “do not question me, woman.”

 

Lucy’s hands went up defensively, “okay. I won’t. Promise.”  she took a breath, smiling slightly “So...um...right…”

 

Hestor watched the blond as he ate, arching an eyebrow, “is that all you wanted to know?”

 

“Well, I was hoping you knew of some uh...less impulsive spirits…” She rubbed the back of her neck, “I was out last week in Minstrel with friends..and I nearly killed one of my friends...by going right over her when I saw a bolt of fabric.”

 

Hestor took a deep breath, “...I’ll see what I can do...and what might work for you.”

 

“Thank you!” Lucy lunged before she realized it and the two went spilling out of the privacy alcove and into the guildhall.

 

Hestor let out a snarl, half at being touched and half because she’d knocked his lunch out of his hand and it had spilled on the floor, “Lucy.”

 

The blonde looked at him and then to the spilled food before letting out an eep and taking off, then shrieked when she heard a grunt and heavier steps behind her, calling out with a half wail, “i’m sorry!!!!”


	107. Morning Kitten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because...Muses. I don't know. I've given up attempting to figure them out

He noticed two things were off when he woke. One, he had no clue where he was, so he searched his mind, trying to figure out where he’d been before he woke up. It was a simple translation job, something he had no issues taking on his own and really it hadn’t required anyone else, so he’d gone alone. Alright, that was solved. He wasn’t sure why he felt odd. He slowly stretched and then blinked a few times as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked at his hands and stared at...paws. He was fairly certain they were cat paws as well...declawed paws. Well, that explained why he felt odd, which was the second thing that had thrown him off on waking up.

 

He heard a coo and slowly turned his head, backpedaling before he was grabbed and smothered in a pair of breasts that he swore rivaled Emzadi’s...or at least came close. He knew his eye had to have been twitching by this point and hearing a woman cooing and then a laugh that he almost recognized, he pushed with the paws and looked around. His eyes narrowed as he saw Bickslow. If that Pradesh was the reason for this...he swore he would exact revenge. Somehow. He shifted and then blinked when he heard a bell..tinkle and then felt something around his neck, starting to try and get it off with a low sound.

 

“Now now, Sweetie. All we have is that to figure out who you belong to,” The blonde woman that was far too cheery said, bringing him up and nuzzling him. He hated this and he put his paws at her face, feeling aggravated as she seemed to think he was playing. Someone had turned him into a fully declawed cat and now he was being subject to torture. “It’s only the guild symbol for White Sea, but i’m sure someone will know who you belong to there, right?”

 

He let himself go limp. He couldn’t allow anyone at the guild to see him like this. His reputation would be ruined...or he would be cuddled to death the moment Emzadi saw him. He was so doomed. He had no clue where he was, but he wriggled until he could look out a window, narrowing his eyes a bit as he realized they were in White Sea City. that was...possibly very bad.

 

He couldn’t feel his spirits, so he assumed that whatever happened, the keys were somewhere safe...hopefully in his requip space. Which was very likely locked away because he was a  **Stars damned cat** .

 

“Don’t worry, furry, we’ll get ya home,” Bickslow grinned, “you’re lucky Cosplayer saw you on the road. Beck’ll be able to figure out who you belong to.”

 

Hestor Kedanza knew only one thing that moment: He was doomed as the car stopped and he saw Emzadi walking into the guild.

 

~)~)~)~)~)

  
  


“Aww! Look at him!” The dragon slayer let out a coo as she held the small grayish white kitten, unaffected that it was struggling as she snuggled and kissed it, “who’s a cute little kitty, you are? Yes you are.”

 

Bickslow chuckled, “yeah, he’s got tags that at least say he’s owned by someone here.”

 

Emzadi nodded, “we’ll figure it out, come on.” she walked inside and looked around, “Where’s Beck, he’s our best shot.” She pursed her lips and raised a hand as she saw Rowan, “Rowan! Have you seen Beck?”

 

“He went out on a three week mission...and when did you get a kitten?” Rowan arched an eyebrow as he watched the squirming ball of fur.

 

Lucy smiled warmly, “we found him in Crocus and Bixy recognized the symbol on his tag...and since we were coming anyway…”

 

The redhead nodded and then smirked, “you’re upsetting him, Emi, give him here.” 

 

Emzadi huffed by handed over the squirming bundle, narrowing her eyes as the kitten seemed to calm down in the redhead’s arms, “is he yours?”

 

Rowan arched an eyebrow as he gently pet the kitten, “no, but it seems he doesn’t like being smothered.” he hadn’t expected the kitten to nuzzle him and start purring, but he smiled faintly, “Hard to say who’s kitten it is. I haven’t heard about anyone getting one. We’ll have to figure out what breed he is, maybe that will help.”

 

~)~)~)~)~)~

 

Hestor was slightly mollified that Kaleb had ‘adopted’ him. He was even more pleased when the blonde idiot made off with Zen and mated a few days ago. She’d been flirting with him and he’d be damned if she’d get too close...and being completely declawed, he’d only had his teeth to drive the point home.

 

He huffed a bit as he jumped up onto the bay window, padding around until he found the perfect sunny spot that he knew would get sun all day and then curled up, tail sliding around and he tucked his face into it. He may as well nap, while he figured out what his next move was going to be...and how he was going to become human again.

 

Kaleb snorted softly as he watched the feline. He’d jokingly called the cat ‘Hes’ and it had responded to it. When the celestial mage returned, he was going to have a fit about the name, but he thought it was funny, what was even funnier was the cat liked the bay window behind his desk, when it wasn’t on his desk itself, demanding to be pet. He noticed that the feline never got on his clothes, which, really most animals seemed to rub against anything light colored and get fur over it.

 

The mindbender swore he heard thoughts from the feline from time to time, but it was always muffled, so he couldn’t exactly be sure that it wasn’t just his imagination, as animals weren’t exactly something he’d been able to influence or hear before.  He watched the feline for a moment before going back to his work, it had been fairly calm since Zen and Lucy had mated, but downright mean tempered when she was around until that point.

 

~)~)~))~

 

Beck stared at the cat in the bay window and arched an eyebrow. He stood there and let out a choked snicker as the cat’s ears flattened against his skull and then the man sat down, chuckling, “...what fresh shit did you get yourself into this time?”

 

He pet the cat, even as the creature wrapped around his other arm, biting at his wrist aggressively. “There, there..there, there” Beck was chuckling and trying to not laugh, he could feel the anger and annoyance radiating off the man turned cat and while it was a serious issue, at the same time, being introduced to the feline by kaleb as “Hes, the cat” had put his humor in full swing.

 

Kaleb frowned as he walked in, “...the cat is attacking you and you’re laughing, what’s so funny?”

 

Beck looked over, grinning, “he’s just...easily riled, quite prickly apparently. Like his namesake.”

 

Kaleb arched an eyebrow, “right, so...did you find out who he belongs to?”

 

Beck sat there, still petting the cat even though it continued to bite at him, four month old kittens were nothing compared to what he normally dealt with,  “you.” the kitten let out a low growl and bit a few more times, trying to actually break the skin.

 

“Beck,” Kaleb gave him a firm look as he moved to his desk, “That’s not even slightly funny.”

 

The green haired mage shrugged, “He has claimed you as his owner...or his pet, you know how strange cats are..”

 

“Right, we’re watching for his namesake as we speak, he reported in that he was going to go see family after his translation job, so...if he doesn’t report in within the week, we’ll send someone to go check in his home village,” Kaleb could feel the humor from the beastmaster and wondered exactly what was funny, but he supposed an ‘attack kitten’ would be comical when he really thought about it.

 

~)~)~))~

 

Kaleb looked at the cat that was on his pillow and arched an eyebrow, “I got you a bed.” he motioned to the cat bed that was on the floor and rolled his eyes as the cat sneezed before curling back up.

 

“Of course you’re not going to use it, we’ve had this argument the last few nights, haven’t we?” The mindbender shook his head as he got into the bed and shifted the kitten over a bit, “you’re such an odd thing.” he let out a sigh as he lay there, then blinked as the feline got up and curled up against his chest. “...you just want to be close to someone, don’t you?”

 

The man shifted onto his side, wrapping an arm around the feline, “if you weren’t so standoffish, I’d know what you’d want.” he smiled though, as the kitten started purring and snuggled against him. He let out a low hum, “now...if I could get your namesake to be so cuddly, hmm?” he laughed as the kitten’s paw smacked against his chest. “Okay, I get it, bed time, no talking.”

 

~)~)~)~))~

  
  
  


Kaleb woke to a paw patting his nose, it was close to dawn regardless, so he was waking, but the paw was new and it took him a few minutes to realize it was the Kitten. He arched an eyebrow as he opened one eye and looked at the little light gray kitten, “morning.”

 

He slowly rose from his bed and stretched, grabbing his robe and then sliding into it before he looked down at the mewl. After a moment of staring, he picked up the kitten and then walked out to the balcony to wake,  grabbing his lacrama tablet on the way. He let out a hum as he settled and the kitten curled up in his lap, purring in contentment. As he looked through what he had to do that day, he absently started to pet the kitten, smiling softly at the sound coming from the small ball of fur.

 

He did wish he could get the man he named the feline after to be as amiable as the cat, but he was always very, very confused around the Celestial Mage. His mind had started mulling over his personal feelings towards the standoffish man more and more the last few years and while there was still a personal space issue, which he swore was due to his stellan blood, the man would sit, seemingly asleep if someone walked in, and talk for hours. He’d answer any questions that Kaleb had and it was warming to the mindbender, to be let into the man’s life like that. 

 

While most wouldn’t realize how intimate that information could be, he was learning about a type of near dead holder magic that had been dwindling for centuries; to know, not eight hundred years ago...there were entire settlements not of mages that had magic that connected to the skies, but of Celestial Mages that worked together, thrived together...and apparently there were more keys then.  Some sets were unable to be duplicated, but some, the silver ones most notably, had thousands of copies that had been destroyed during the holy wars along with the mages that wielded them.

 

According to the Dean of the Academe Celestine, there were anywhere from ten to twenty Celestial Summoning Mages that did Mage work in the entire world, many prefering to take Teaching Spots to pass on the knowledge to the youngers as they aged. Mages that apparently couldn’t realize their full power without the lost Archangels...and it was why his family watched Zen so closely, worried that he would be fought over, enslaved again, this time to a mage instead of a country.

 

He let out a sigh as he sat there, blinking as the kitten smacked his chin and he looked down with an amused look. The feline looked almost annoyed, but it was hard to tell, “hmm? Did I stop petting you on accident?” He absently thanked Thane as he picked up his coffee and frowned as the feline leap onto the cart, “hey now…” he trailed off, watching the small feline smack the top off the honey pot and lap at it, “...I’m not sure that’s healthy for you…”

 

Hes let out a low hiss and his back arched, Kaleb arching an eyebrow and watching the cat go back to the honey for a bit and then moving to the cream, lapping at it as if it was his  **right** to do so. The mindbender would...never understand cats.

  
  


~)~)~)~))~)~)~)~

 

“I just don’t understand why he’s so..” Kaleb waved a hand towards the kitten that was curled up in the bay window, “whatever he is.”

 

Beck was still amused and he couldn’t help himself. He knew the truth about the feline and he was waiting for his guildmaster, a very brilliant man, he’d admit, to figure out every little quirk and make the connections. “Prickly?” 

 

A platinum blond brow arched, “I wouldn’t say ‘prickly’, Beck, but he is quirky. He doesn’t get up on the counters, but he’ll get up on my breakfast tray.”

 

Beck snickered and then cleared his throat, “well, sometimes cats can be quirky, especially with a human that they’ve claimed as theirs. You simply have to adjust and learn to deal with him. It’s a bit sad though…”

 

“What is?” 

 

“The full declawing, he can’t go outside, has to be kept because he can’t defend himself,” the green haired man smirked at the low hiss and growl from the kitten, “Don’t be that way...it’s true, Hes.”

 

The kitten was fluffed up and his ears were back as he let out a low growl, tail twitching in aggravation. The large man walked over and crouched down, gently petting the feline only to have it wrap around his arm and start nipping. Beck smirked, “Someone’s grouchy today.”

 

“Stop provoking him, Beck,” The mindbender arched an eyebrow, “normally you do well with animals, so i’m confused.”

 

“The Stellan Mau is a testy breed period, they’re bred only at the temples of Bastet in Stella and are distributed to the Priests and Priestesses of the temples...if one bonds with said person,” Beck chuckled softly and shook his head, “Typically, they’ve got spots...his are just...fairly close to his own coat color.”

 

Kaleb sipped his coffee, “So...in other words, even if I didn’t want a cat...I’ve got a cat.”

 

“Pretty much,” Beck shrugged as the feline continued to attempt to bite him enough to hurt him.

 

~)~)~)~)~

 

Kaleb was, five days into having the kitten, getting used to the feline’s quirks. He wasn’t sure he should look quite so amused as the cat perched on his shoulder as he went about things, but Hes seemed to attract plenty of looks, especially when ‘hiding’ in his hair when it was down, which he had learned, the cat was good at making sure happened, quite a few hair ties having been maneuvered out of his hair and ‘tossed’ on the floor. He still didn’t know how the kitten did it, or even knew how the clips worked.

 

At this point, he assumed it had something to do with the Stellan Mau and the origins of the breed. Being bred and raised to be companions for the Stellan Priests and Priestesses, he assumed they had to be smart and cunning creatures that learned fast. He was currently looking out over the guildhall from the balcony of his office, taking the entirety of it in and watching the doors periodically. Two more days, then he’d make a point to go to Eventide bay, just to see if the Guild’s resident Celestial Mage had simply lost track of time...which he truly was prone to do if he went to his home village and spent time in the Ocean.

 

The mindbender looked at his guest, smiling faintly, “lady Hishoko…” he then half stood as the cat on his shoulders suddenly tore off, making a break for the balcony, “hes! No!”

 

The woman stood there, blinking slowly, “you named a Stellan Mau after my nephew?!”

 

The mindbender dove to grab the cat, barely catching the feline as it nearly got to the railing and squeezed through. He took deep breaths as the kitten squirmed in his hands, “hey, hey, it’s okay, I know you don’t like new people...it’s fine…” He moved to hold the cat close as he stood, “it’s okay...you’re staying here with me.”

 

The cat let out puffs of breath as he was held, wide eyes staring at the woman even as the mindbender moved back to his desk, “I’m sorry about that...he’s a bit skittish.”

 

Hishoko slowly arched an eyebrow, “I see this..”

 

Kaleb gave a faint smile as he put the kitten on his shoulder, murmuring, “go on, relax, Hes.”

 

Hes purred, nuzzling the man’s cheek before hiding in his hair again and the man brought a hand up, gently petting the small head, “I wonder what’s going on in your head, Hes. you’re as much of an enigma as the person I named you after.” He swore the cat rolled his eyes, but brushed it off as his imagination.

 

“So, you named the cat after my Nephew?” The woman sat there, watching the mindbender, “...it does act like him, I suppose.” her lips were drawn in a thin line, “seeing the feline with my own eyes, I will contact the temple of Bastet...see if there are missing kittens...but it seems to have already bonded with you.”

 

Beck and Zen sat at the bar, watching the cat and the beastmaster snorted in laughter, “...you know…”

 

Zen arched an eyebrow and looked up, looking amused, “I wonder when he’ll figure it out.” the archangel could see through whatever had been done to the...Man turned cat, but when he’d first seen through the curse, he’d talked to Beck..then started to share the amusement of the obliviousness of his younger brother. Especially since instead of a cat, he saw the Celestial mage draped along his brother’s back with his arms around his shoulders. 

 

“Soon, I’d hope, he’s going to start looking for the man pretty soon…” he snorted, “though..I wasn’t aware he was that scared of that woman.”

  
  


~)~)~)~))~

 

Kaleb hadn’t expected the cat to leap off his shoulders and then curl up in Ming’s lap. The fact that the feline did so was shocking, because he’d not been affectionate with anyone but the mindbender himself. 

 

“We have not seen our son since the last time you came to retrieve him,” The woman slowly arched a silver eyebrow as she leaned back, fingers lightly scratching the kitten’s head, which got him purring loudly.

 

Kaleb frowned a bit, “he’s been...somewhere for a week.  Normally when he doesn’t report back from simple jobs, I assume he’s come to visit.” he sipped his tea as he sat there, shaking his head, “I suppose we’ll have to send out a search party.”

 

“Mmm, it appears so,” The woman watched him, “I’d suggest either looking closer to home, or contacting my family...they may have a clue.”

 

Kaleb made a face then, he was truly loathe to contact the Xing Family, especially regarding the Celestial Mage. he’d seen the man open the bay window while seemingly napping as the Matriarch of the Clan had come for an Official Visit and leapt right out it. That had been more frightening than he wanted to admit and Hishoko Xing had scowled as she stood there, letting out a string of words in Stellan he was sure were curses. “We will see.” He set his tea cup down, “well, If you don’t mind, I’ll be going.”

 

He stood and then blinked as the feline was up and out of the woman’s lap, rubbing against his leg, “oh? I thought you wanted to stay?” he started at the very cross yowl that came from the kitten and crouched down to pick him up and put him on his shoulders, “honestly.”

 

Ming watched the mindbender go and looked at her husband, slowly arching an eyebrow, “...I thought he was smart.”

 

Kiran chuckled softly, “now, now Dear…I’m going to guess your magic recognized him?”

 

“Of course I’d recognize my child,” The woman sniffed indignantly and sipped her tea, “i wonder what god he pissed off though...Bastet is fairly easy going.”

 

~)~)~)~)~

 

Kaleb was quiet as he walked and processed the thoughts he’d heard from the couple before taking a breath, “...really?” The cat let out a curious sound as he rubbed against the mindbender’s cheek. “...this is not amusing.”

 

The cat seemed to shrug before curling up on his shoulder; No, Hestor curled up on his shoulder and he was wondering if  **that** was why his older brother and beck were so damned amused and shielding their thoughts lately. Ming and Kiran didn’t have that liberty, but he had been doubtful about her thoughts of the cat having the same magical signature as her son, “You couldn’t have...I don’t know...found a way to let me know?”

 

He made a face at the sneeze from Hestor, “we are having this discussion….somehow…” he sighed, “...I’ll get a tablet set up when we get back...with large letter buttons, so you can type it out.”

 

~)~)~)~)~

 

Kaleb gave Beck and Zen both narrowed eyed looks when he walked into the guildhall. The men grinned at him and shrugged. “Really?”

 

Beck smirked a bit, “c’mon, it only took you a week...you got a silver coated kitten that was prickly, slept in a bay window and was always around you…”

 

Kaleb opened his mouth and then sighed, “...that’s on me, I’ll admit it.”

 

“So...how did you find out?” Zen grinned as he reached out, petting Hestor and grinning as the feline purred.

 

“His parents,” Kaleb scowled a bit, watching the feline just lean into the hand. “So how do we fix this?”

 

“We’d have to figure out what happened first,” Zen pursed his lips, “I can see  **through** it, but I don’t know what caused it.”

 

“Right, plan A then…” Kaleb turned a bit, “Time to go get a tablet set up so he can communicate…”

 

~)~)~)~

 

He stared at Hestor and then the tablet. “...really?”

 

‘If I knew what happened…’ The cat gave him a cross look, ears back, ‘...besides, who’s supposed to be smart here?’

 

“Now, I’ve had a lot of work,” Kaleb narrowed his eyes.

 

‘No more than normal.’

 

“Your Aunt wanted to visit again,” Kaleb scowled, “i’ve been a bit preoccupied with keeping her in Stella and not here, demanding where you are….and after the last time you nearly took a diving leap off my balcony…”

 

‘Noted. Woman needs to stop.’ The cat let out a sigh and shook his head, ‘anyway. I woke up this way. After the mission. Being smothered by that blonde….then got smothered by Emzadi.’

 

Kaleb sighed a bit, petting the cat slowly, “we’ll figure it out, we just have to figure out which cosmic being cursed you, correct?”

 

The cat looked at him and he could almost feel the ire now that he was actually paying attention to the cat’s mannerisms, ‘take your pick. Who knows what I did to deserve this.’ Hestor had an idea...he’d seen the blonde be drawn to Kaleb and had to wonder. He shook his head ‘regardless, this needs broken...because I am not living my life as a cat.’

 

“We’ll see what we can do,” Kaleb sighed, “Though...we may actually have to go to Stella.”

 

Hestor let out a low growling sound, ‘i refuse!’

 

“You may not get a choice,” the mindbender pursed his lips, “and really, why didn’t you say anything earlier.”

 

‘...say something how?’

 

“You could have tried to get on my tablet,” Kaleb arched an eyebrow as he stared at Hestor.

 

‘Before or after you put that silly game with the mice running across the screen to see if I’d go after them to keep myself amused? I can’t exactly...swipe to get through programs too well.’

 

“Beck sugg…” Kaleb trailed off, taking a breath and sighing, “if I didn’t respect his privacy...I should have looked into his head.”

 

‘...he described me as I always am.’

 

Kaleb scowled, “are you going to tear apart all my defenses over this?”

 

‘No, but I demand a star tracker.’

 

“You’re insufferable.”

 

‘Really? Because I swear you said you wanted the human me to be cuddly.’

 

“I thought…”

 

‘It’s nice that you think of me that way.’ Hestor ducked his head a bit, tail wrapping around before he ducked his nose into it.

 

Kaleb watched the cat before gently scratching behind one of the light colored ears, “if you were a little more open about how you felt…” he watched as Hestor tensed a bit, “I mean it...we could have avoided a lot of misunderstandings…”

 

He started at the sudden movement of one of the paws, ‘i’m...not good with feelings.’

 

“I know, Hes,” Kaleb looked at Hestor and then shifted to pick up the tablet and the cat, drawing him against his chest and keeping the tablet where he could type, “but...I mean it, if you’d have shown some indication…”

 

‘And be rejected? Thank you, no. I have my pride...besides...you just cut things off with that captain a month ago.’

 

Kaleb rolled his eyes, “this is the strangest conversation I’ve ever had.”

 

‘You’re lucky. I’ve had stranger with my spirits.’

 

“I’m almost afraid for you then,” Kaleb arched an eyebrow as he sat there, hand still scratching at Hestor’s head, smiling at the purring, “Though...you are a bit more manageable thi-OW!” He scowled as Hestor’s head snapped around and bit hard on one of his fingers, “really?”

 

The kitten glowered before letting his finger go and snuggled back against the mindbender’s chest. ‘Yes.’ the cat let out a sigh as he let out a distressed sound ‘I don’t want to stay this way.’

 

“We’ll get you back to normal,” Kaleb smiled softly, shaking his head, “it will just take time...now that we know what happened…”

 

‘We don’t know exactly what happened.’

 

Kaleb rolled his eyes, “we know you were cursed. Maybe we’ll just take you up to the Citadel…try there first.”

  
  
  


~)~)~)~)~)

 

Tesso looked at Kaleb for a moment, then the cat and tablet he was holding, “...say that again?”

 

“I want to put my cat into the lacrama…” at the hiss from the feline, Kaleb smiled faintly, “...it’s Hestor. He’s been cursed.”

 

“How do you know it’s him?” Tesso eyed the rather foul tempered little feline as it tapped at the tablet and then rolled his eyes at the message on the screen ‘i will end you’. “...that’s Hestor alright.”

 

Kaleb chuckled softly and shook his head as they walked, “yeah, Beck and Zen apparently had a fun week keeping this fact from me.”

 

He put the kitten down in the bottom of the lacrama, scratching his ears gently “Okay, let’s see if this works.” He watched Hestor curl up and smiled, “we’ll see you in an hour.”

 

When the Lacrama opened back up, there was a slightly dazed man kneeling there, naked, and Kaleb helped him up and out, “well that worked.”

 

“If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Tesso said, watching the two, “I’ll leave it to you then?”

 

~)~)~)~)~)~

 

Finding out that the head scratching  **still** worked to keep Hestor calm was almost amusing, especially when they’d gotten back to the guild and he’d had to haul Hestor away from Beck before he got too close. Kaleb was currently looking through his tablet, the celestial mage curled up in his lap and dozing as his free hand was gently scratching at his scalp.

 

They had a lot to work on still, including sorting where they stood, but with the other opening up a bit more, he was going to see exactly how far they could go, now that he knew they both had feelings for one another. He smiled as he put his tablet down, “alright, come on, time to go get lunch.”

 

Kaleb let out a low moan as Hestor’s head moved a bit and he bit him on the chest before seemingly staying asleep. He chuckled after a moment, “I see how it is…” Yes, he supposed, they’d work out just fine...he’d gotten a fairly good idea of how to handle the prickly man from that week.


	108. Mid-day Kitten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Variant of The last chapter...because my muses wanted a Farron/Hestor story.

He noticed two things were off when he woke. One, he had no clue where he was, so he searched his mind, trying to figure out where he’d been before he woke up. It was a simple translation job, something he had no issues taking on his own and really it hadn’t required anyone else, so he’d gone alone. Alright, that was solved. He wasn’t sure why he felt odd. He slowly stretched and then blinked a few times as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked at his hands and stared at...paws. He was fairly certain they were cat paws as well...declawed paws. Well, that explained why he felt odd, which was the second thing that had thrown him off on waking up.

 

He heard a coo and slowly turned his head, backpedaling before he was grabbed and smothered in a pair of breasts that he swore rivaled Emzadi’s...or at least came close. He knew his eye had to have been twitching by this point and hearing two women cooing and then a laugh that he almost recognized, he pushed with the paws and looked around. His eyes narrowed as he saw Bickslow. If that Pradesh was the reason for this...he swore he would exact revenge. Somehow. He shifted and then blinked when he heard a bell..tinkle and then felt something around his neck, starting to try and get it off with a low sound.

 

“Now now, Sweetie. All we have is that to figure out who you belong to,” The blonde woman that was far too cheery said, bringing him up and nuzzling him. He hated this and he put his paws at her face, feeling aggravated as she seemed to think he was playing. Someone had turned him into a fully declawed cat and now he was being subject to torture. “It’s only the guild symbol for White Sea, but i’m sure someone will know who you belong to there, right?”

 

He let himself go limp. He couldn’t allow anyone at the guild to see him like this. His reputation would be ruined...or he would be cuddled to death the moment Emzadi saw him. He was so doomed. He had no clue where he was, but he wriggled until he could look out a window, narrowing his eyes a bit as he realized they were in White Sea City. that was...possibly very bad.

 

He couldn’t feel his spirits, so he assumed that whatever happened, the keys were somewhere safe...hopefully in his requip space. Which was very likely locked away because he was a **Stars damned cat**.

 

“Don’t worry, furry, we’ll get ya home,” Bickslow grinned, “you’re lucky Cosplayer saw you on the road. Beck’ll be able to figure out who you belong to.”

 

Hestor Kedanza knew only one thing that moment: He was doomed as the car stopped and he saw Emzadi walking into the guild.

 

~)~)~)~)~)

  


“Aww! Look at him!” The dragon slayer let out a coo as she held the small grayish white kitten, unaffected that it was struggling as she snuggled and kissed it, “who’s a cute little kitty, you are? Yes you are.”

 

Bickslow chuckled, “yeah, he’s got tags that at least say he’s owned by someone here.”

 

Emzadi nodded, “we’ll figure it out, come on.” she walked inside and looked around, “Where’s Beck, he’s our best shot.” She pursed her lips and raised a hand as she saw Rowan, “Rowan! Have you seen Beck?”

 

“He went out on a three week mission...and when did you get a kitten?” Rowan arched an eyebrow as he watched the squirming ball of fur.

 

Lucy smiled warmly, “we found him in Crocus and Bixy recognized the symbol on his tag...and since we were coming anyway…”

 

The redhead nodded and then smirked, “you’re upsetting it, Emi, give it here.”

 

Emzadi huffed by handed over the squirming bundle, narrowing her eyes as the kitten seemed to calm down in the redhead’s arms, “is he yours?”

 

Rowan arched an eyebrow as he gently pet the kitten, “no, but it seems he doesn’t like being smothered.” he hadn’t expected the kitten to nuzzle him and start purring, but he smiled faintly, “Hard to say who’s kitten it is. I haven’t heard about anyone getting a kitten. We’ll have to figure out what breed he is, maybe that will help.”

 

~)~)~)~)~

 

He was pissed. The blonde bimbo had moved in on his territory...firmly. He couldn’t really do anything with this...curse or whatever it was, so he watched as the two shared pleasure a week after knowing each other...and Kaleb had become an archangel. He’d managed to get a good look at himself in a reflective surface and realized what kind of cat he’d been turned into and simply used Kaleb’s tablet while he was off being _lovey, dovey_ with the woman to pull it up...and he’d had a fight and a half to do it without Thane walking in.

 

He spent his days curled up in the bay window, wishing he had claws to shred the fabric to show his ire. Whoever had cursed him knew what they were doing. His rational mind was shielded and even when Beck came back, he couldn’t get through to the green haired man. So, fine. He’d curled up after leaving the resource about how the cat he was primarily came from the temples of his mother’s homeland and hopefully they’d fucking call his family to take him away.

 

~)~)~)~)~

 

Kaleb sighed as he watched the cat, “I don’t know what’s wrong, he was affectionate until we mated.”

 

Lucy pursed her lips, “well he doesn’t like me, that’s for sure.” she’d been bitten quite a few times, never too hard, but it had been enough for her to realize the cat didn’t want her to touch him. He still rankled at most people touching him and tolerated it, but her? No, he did not like her touching him at all. He even went after her ankles quite often.

 

“I’ve contacted the Temple of Bast in stella, they said they’re going to send someone to pick him up, put him in a proper home,” Kaleb hummed, “apparently a set of their new kittens got stolen right around the time you found him.”

 

~)~)~)~))~

 

Kaleb stood and bowed, “Xiao, a pleasure.” it wasn’t, both men knew it. Kaleb had been there the last time that he’d come to talk to Hestor...and the Celestial mage had tried to throw his paperweight at him.

 

Xiao bowed his head, “Indeed, Guildmaster...congratulations on your...relationship.” he gave a small smile and walked to the window, “This is the feline in question?”

 

“Yes, I was going to keep him, but...he doesn’t seem to like my promised,” Kaleb made a face, “or until we could Locate Hestor, who’s gone missing.”

 

“I’d suggest you see if you can locate him before Mother finds out, Guildmaster,” They both knew that the man’s mother would start a war if she could risk it over the man missing, but there wasn’t quite enough evidence that Hestor wasn’t just hiding out somewhere...yet. He picked up the cat and clicked his tongue, “who declawed him?”

 

Lucy shook her head, “I found him that way…” she shifted uncomfortably beneath the dark blue eyes, “so...I don’t know.”

 

Xiao let out a low sound and then pet the cat, letting his magic curl over it slightly, “right, find my cousin please, I will take this little one to a new home. Good day, Guildmaster, Miss Heartfilia.”

 

Kaleb watched the man walk out, he’d seen how the man’s magic had reacted to the cat...and while the cat hadn’t fought, he’d definitely looked like he was resigned to going. The Xing had guarded his thoughts well which Kaleb figured had to do with the fact that he was around Seith enough to learn such skills.

 

~)~)~)~

 

The moment that Xiao had stepped into the temple of Anubis outer grounds, the cat had changed. He wasn’t sure if it was because it was night, or the temple itself, but his rather grumpy cousin had wriggled in his arms and then transformed after leaping to the ground. “Cousin.”

 

Hestor stood there and looked at his arms, seeing the glowing band with the symbol of Anubis on it, “Fucking wonderful.” he narrowed his eyes, “if I find out any of you are the cause behind this-”

 

Xiao held up a hand, “we were not, but I assume the blessing of Anubis is what broke this, if only temporarily.” The man watched his cousin stalk into the temple, “you know where the high priest chambers are, right?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll fucking find them!” Hestor waved over his shoulder as he stalked with a catlike grace into the temple. His hands moved to his hair and he lightly shook it out.

 

Xiao stood there and then shook his head, “well, time to go speak with mother and sister.”

 

~)~)~)~)~)~

 

Lucy stared at kaleb, “what...do you mean you already knew that?”

 

Kaleb frowned, “Hestor, the mage that’s missing...we talked a lot and in confidence...he sometimes couldn’t seem to stop talking.”

 

Lucy stood there for a long moment, “...oh shit.” She brought her hands to her mouth, “If I had **known** you were possibly close to a Celestial mage...I would have spoken to them!”

 

“What do you mean?” Kaleb frowned, Lucy’s mind was reeling, going over thousands of things and it was hard to keep up.

 

Lucy shifted on her feet, “I mean...there’s no undoing it now...but...how did you feel about him?”

 

Kaleb pursed his lips, “not the same way he felt about me…and then you came into my life…”

 

The blonde groaned, “you really need to learn more about the magics you have under your guildroof…” She crossed her arms on her chest, “we’re secretive assholes and bitches, just telling you now. I mean...we can’t undo this now…” she trailed off, “and we don’t even know where he is…” She stared at the latest copy of Sorcerer’s for a long moment, “But...even if we did...I don’t think he’s coming back.”

 

“What?”

 

“We’re mated and it’s everywhere, you said he’d been researching Archangels because of Zen…” Lucy shrugged, “I mean...half of why I left was because I thought I loved Natsu and he mated with Lisanna..I needed to get away and I met you.”

 

“Do you think he met someone?” Kaleb frowned as he sat there. He didn’t like that his mage was missing.

 

Lucy shrugged, “no telling? You’d have to find him first to ask, but if his heart chose you...and you’re mated to me...it’d be heartbreaking to be around, don’t you think?”

 

~)~)~)~)~)~

  
  


Farron blinked as he walked into the temple of Anubis, he’d been offered a chance to actually sit down with the Stellan Tribunal, but it had to be at the Temple of Anubis, for whatever reason. Music was playing, there were paper lanterns about, not lit because the sun had yet to set.  On the seat that was reserved for the High Priest of the temple was a silver-gray Stellan Mau that was probably six months old. He’d been hoping that he’d be able to see if the Xing were having any luck at all in their search for White Sea’s Missing Celestial mage.

 

His brother had been worried when there had been no contact from the family and getting the invitation to actually come negotiate had gotten him in the country. Farron heard a strange tune start to play and watched as the sun started to set as he walked to the seat, absently petting the feline, “where is your human, hmm?”

 

He blinked as he felt magic around the cat and took a few steps back, keeping his face impassive as the cat glowed as the sun finally set, stretching and the wisps of Celestial Magic curled around the feline, leaving...Hestor sitting there, wearing a Shenti and an ornate collar. “...Hestor?”

 

Hestor let out a low hum as he put his chin in his hand, leaning against the arm of the seat, his other hand coming up and then shaking out his hair a bit, “yes?”

 

“Why haven’t you contacted anyone?” Farron Studied the mage who seemed...almost as bored as cat, if he was honest.

 

The silver haired mage stood, stretching and giving a faint shrug, “I cannot go back. I get a reprieve from my curse only at night...and only on temple grounds.”

 

Farron took a moment, composing himself, not expecting the encounter, “we could find a way to break the curse. When did this happen?”

A silver brow arched as the man leaned towards the other, stopping as he passed him, “when Lucy came...right before she mated your little brother.” the mage’s voice was a purr, “so you can tell them whatever you want, Ambassador Pradesh, I can’t leave.”

 

Farron turned and watched the man go. Hestor had always been a confident man, in his magic, in how he carried himself, how he dressed and yet, right then, Farron decided the man had never been so self assured. There was a felinine like quality to his movements and Farron could just see...silvery spots like the typical Stellan Mau curling up on either side of his spine in a pulsing silver magic.

 

Part of him debated on contacting his brother immediately, but he moved to walk after the other. He was here for negotiations and then he realized that with the moon as it was, he was glad he had Vander and not Cris with him for this.

 

“I would suggest you not bed that one, Vander,” Hestor said as he plucked a glass of a tray and had a fruit in his other hand, “she’s a concubine.” he smirked, “unless you wish to have a little you running about.”

 

“Whoa, Hes! Where have you been man?” Vander grinned, leaving the woman and knowing exactly what those words meant. He leaned towards the silver haired mage, mumbling, “Seriously. Where the **fuck** have you been? We need a sane fucking Celestial Mage around.”

 

Hestor smirked as he sipped from his drink, “poor you, if you consider me sane.” He popped the fig in his mouth and pat the shadowquip’s cheek as he chewed and swallowed the fruit, “I decided it was time to do my duty to my family. I wasn’t aware I had to tell **anyone** my personal business?”

 

“Man, you left without a damn word,” Vander scowled, “Kaleb’s been antsy.”

 

Hestor rolled his eyes, “Guildmaster Kaleb has been balls deep in his mate. I heard she’s with child. Give him my congratulations.”

 

Vander let out a low whistle, “Brutal.” he chuckled, “Damn, is it the Stellan air?”

 

Hestor rolled his eyes a bit as they walked, “Hardly. I’m cursed to the grounds of stellan temples, which I am sure you or your brother will relay back to him. So be a dear.” he smirked as he finished his drink and put it on a passing tray, grabbing another, “I don’t know who cursed me, but...I can’t complain about the accommodations much, truthfully.”

 

Vander shook his head with a grin, “yeah...but i’d think there was too much boob around for you.”

 

Hestor licked his lips as they walked, “mmm, that is true.” he paused and looked behind him, smirking at Farron, as the man came up behind them, “come along, Ambassador, I’ll lead you to the chambers that the Tribunal is using.”

 

The man walked the two along, “You need not worry about security, none will do anything here.” He nodded towards quite a few males that were positioned around, each wearing a helmet that looked like a jackal head, “they will not allow it.”

 

Farron pursed his lips, “you could come back, you know, we could find a way to break this curse.”

 

Hestor paused as he looked at the two. They were at a break in one of the temple outer walls. He motioned towards the path, “Continue that way, please.”

 

“Hestor…” Farron started, trying to figure out how to convince the man to come back only to watch him walk towards the opening. There was the swirl of magic...then the cat was there and padding down the path that lead towards a temple of Bastet. He let out a sigh, “As stubborn as ever.”

 

Vander smirked “he wouldn’t be him if he wasn’t.” the two walked down the path they were supposed to go down, “let's...get you through this, yeah?”

 

~)~))~~)~)~

  


Farron knew that negotiating with Stella was always a difficult thing. Convincing one meant possibly annoying another. They were all very strict and hard headed leaders that dealt with parts of each country and kept their noses out of each other’s business. He was, however, not prepared for the three to easily agree to the trade agreements.

 

He had to admit that it was the smoothest negotiation that anyone had ever had. Hishoko was in a good mood, Akihino was in a good mood and Wi actually seemed...delighted. He was worried that they may be plotting something, but it was...just that they were generally happy for some reason that was being well hidden.

 

What should have taken...days, took a matter of a few hours and then they excused themselves, saying that the Temple would host him until he left.

 

“Vander?”

 

Vander looked at his brother, “...Hishoko was fucking giddy, Fare…I’m fucking scared. That woman giddy is not good.”

 

Farron took a breath, “it’s fine, we don’t know what has them happy, things went well and we will take it.” he would take it and run. He expected them to negotiate the prices like always, to nitpick over everything, but nothing, not even a small adjustment. He was going to take this win and find out what had them so damn happy.

 

~))~)~))~

 

It didn’t take Vander long to figure out what was up, Hestor had been..busy. He’d almost wager he’d call the Celestial Mage a tomcat about it. The concubine halls were alight with information and he shook his head.

 

Many different bloodlines had submitted concubines...and there were six children on the way, from in four months to eight months of wait. He let out a low whistle as he slid out of a shadow by his brother, grabbing a glass of drink off a passing tray, “So...Hes has been busy.”

 

“How busy?”

 

“...six kids on the way?”

 

Farron arched an eyebrow and looked at Vander, “...six?”

 

Vander shrugged, “yeah, that’s what I said...not sure how it’s possible, but it is.” he shook his head, “can we kidnap him?”

 

Farron rolled his eyes, “That would cause an international incident...sleeping with him would not and probably get more information.”

 

They both turned at the swirl of magic and saw Hestor walk through one of the gates, plucking up a drink and then walking towards the temple. Vander arched an eyebrow, “So..you or me.”

 

Farron looked thoughtful, “it’s almost dawn, there won’t be a chance tonight. Tomorrow evening, I’ll see if he’ll talk to me.”

  


~)~)~))~)~)~

  


Farron made sure he was up and awake well before dusk, the temple still seemed lively and he walked into the main room, staring at the large chair and the cat on it, “we’re going to have a talk and you’re not running away this time.”

 

Hestor slowly raised his head, stretching and yawning before he sneezed. If he was aloof as a human, he’d perfected it as a feline. Before Hestor could stand, the sound mage had him by the scruff of the neck.

 

“I meant it. We’re going to talk,” baby blue eyes narrowed as the cat’s ears slammed back on his head and his tail swished dangerously, “no, you don’t get to run. I know you, you’ve done an amazing job over the years of hiding yourself, Hestor. Right now, you’ve got enough tells while being a cat that you can’t hide anything.”

 

The cat wriggled and tried to get away, but the damn curse had him declawed completely and he was hissing as he tried to get any purchase, which carried over as the magic flared and Farron didn’t let go, instead of being upright like he normally was, Hestor was sprawled on the seat face down and being held, “Let me go.”

 

“We’re going to talk,” Farron said firmly, “your Aunt is **giddy** , the entire Stellan Tribunal is giddy, you slept with six women and have six children on the way and you’re being detached.”

 

“Let. Me. Go,” The tone the mage used was one that magic was pushed behind and Farron let the man go with narrowed eyes.

 

“You’re not avoiding this,” Farron stood there, “The guild has been worried sick for six months! Kaleb-”

 

“-Is perfectly fine, mated and with a pretty little blonde,” Hestor slowly stood and looked at Farron, head tilting slightly, “I’m cursed. It doesn’t **matter** what I want.” he took a few deep breaths and then slowly let them out before he turned, “just leave it. I’m going to go get some alcohol, some food and...play pretty for a few hours.”

 

“We miss you, Hes,” Farron spoke softly, “don’t run from your friends.”

 

Hestor stiffened as he looked at Farron, eyes narrowing dangerously and Farron could hear the fight in the man’s soul, could see the sharp hurt and knew whatever the man was about to say wasn’t meant, “Friends? The only ones that thought I was your friend, Farron, were you and your family. Get it through your head, I was never a friend.” he turned and strode towards the large archway out of the temple.

 

Farron’s eyes narrowed as his hand snapped out and grabbed the smaller man, giving up most pretenses as he yanked the smaller right back and slammed him to sit in the large chair, “bullshit. You wouldn’t have spent time with any of us if you didn’t think we were friends.” he caged the other in with his legs and arms, staring down and making the other crane his neck.

 

Hestor let out a low growl as he sat there and Farron could tell the man was in a mood to hurt with words,  “you don’t know me…” his lips curled into a smirk, “but you did know the blonde, didn’t you? Said you remembered her, thought about her, you even followed her movements. Must have hurt like a bitch when she mated with Kaleb.”

 

“How did you know about-”

 

“I have plenty of Keys, _Ambassador_ , some very, very good for spying,” Hestor sneered, “and the **best** way to make sure you’re never betrayed is to have plenty on those around you...because once they do?” his eyes danced, “you can find every sore spot they have and rub salt into each open wound.” He chuckled darkly.

 

Farron wanted to snap back, but he realized that the silver haired mage was simply lashing out, ironically, like a hurt, abandoned house cat...which he was for the daylight hours. He took a deep breath, “you would have used that information by now.”

 

“Maybe I was going to use it if the trade negotiations fell through,” Hestor spat, “That’d be a logical reason.”

 

“You don’t care about the demands for mined goods,” Farron arched an eyebrow as he looked at the smaller man.

 

Hestor groaned as he stared at the golden haired ambassador, “is there any reason you are pestering me over this?” he arched an eyebrow “I’m cursed. I’m stuck. I’m resigned.”

 

“We could find a way to break the curse,” Farron stated firmly, “I said that last night.”

 

Hestor went to talk, but the clearing of a throat had the mage shifting and leaning to the side, “Yes, High Priestess?”

 

Hishoko arched an eyebrow, “the dinner banquet is ready, should we delay it a bit?”

 

Hestor pursed his lips, “no, we don’t need to delay it. We were just having a heated conversation.” His eyes snapped up to Farron, “right, Ambassador?”

 

Farron knew the conversation was over, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to attempt to continue it. later.

 

~)~)~))~~)~

  


Farron couldn’t help the smirk as they sat at the large tables and looked to his left. Hestor looked less than pleased with the seating arrangements than Farron thought would be possible. The man drank from his glass and listened as Hishoko spoke.

 

“Tonight is a night of blessings,” The woman smiled, “the moon is full and once gain, our beloved Priest will convene tonight with someone.” She held up her fluted glass, “Blessings upon him.”

 

The last line was repeated by everyone, though Farron heard Hestor Sarcastically repeat it before tilting his head back and downing the contents of his glass. There was a servant right there, refilling it as the food was brought out, plates set before everyone.

 

The meal was quiet, with few talking and Farron smiled, “The food is delightful.”

 

“That would be the Tao branch, they’re amazing Chefs,” Hestor said, finishing off his meal and setting his cutlery down. “If you will excuse me, I will be retiring, hopefully your trip back tomorrow is good, Ambassador.”

 

Farron watched the Celestial mage go and then gave a side glance to Vander. They weren’t sure how long the ‘party’ was going to last, but he knew he was damn well going to have a long talk with the silver haired man. One way or another.

 

~)~)~)~)~

 

It had taken nearly two hours to get out of the party, begging off that he needed sleep because of a midday flight back to Bosco. Farron had slipped away and Vander had given him a rough idea of where Hestor’s chambers were. He slipped into the room, carefully closing the door behind him.

 

A sleepy voice carried, “I’ve done my duty, I would very much like a bit of rest.”

 

Farron slowly walked towards the canopied bed. Everything about it was black, from the bedding to the curtains and the Celestial mage stood out like a light in the darkness on it, “oh?”

 

Hestor half sat, twisting at the voice and his steel blue eyes flashed as he let out a low growl, “What are you doing here?”

 

“I said we were going to talk, Hestor,” Farron said as he slowly approached the bed, watching the tense man. His eyes roving along the other, seeing that well kept trail of silver hair that the fallen sheet uncovered.

 

Hestor took a few breaths and narrowed his eyes, “there is nothing to talk about…” he licked his lips and then laid back down, covering his eyes because he didn’t want to look at the other man.  His blood sang in his veins, knowing what was under those clothes that Farron wore and knowing it had been far, far too long that he’d shared male company and pleasure. Stars, he’d almost sunken into desire earlier  and he couldn’t have that.

 

Farron heard the turmoil and then slowly moved to sit on the edge of the bed, when the other went to move, he leaned over, putting his arm on the other side of the pale body, caging him in a bit, “hestor. There is.”

 

The silver haired man took a deep breath, slowly letting it out as it shuddered between his lips, “Do not invade my space.”

 

“I miss playing chess, you know,” Farron spoke as he leaned over the other man, free hand moving to carefully remove the arm that Hestor had thrown over his face. He looked down into the hazy eyes, seeing the emotions that alcohol and exhaustion had just made hard to hide. “I miss talking to you…” He leaned down a bit, “missed sharing pleasure from time to time.” He watched the other’s eyes, seeing the conflict, seeing the pupils slowly dilate, and brought his free hand back up after gently setting the arm down.

 

The flush that was starting on the pale features stood out more for that paleness and he cupped Hestor’s cheek, letting his thumb curl along the other’s lower lip, appreciating how utterly soft and supple the celestial mage currently was. He couldn’t help but breathe out, “share pleasure with me, Hestor, please.”

 

He heard the familiar whimper and leaned down a bit as the Celestial mage surged up, the slender fingers digging into his hair and Farron couldn’t help but moan at the taste that exploded across his tongue as he dove into the other’s mouth, it was sweet, salty and savory all at the same time. The sweet was most likely from the honey mead, the salty and savory...he knew was all the silver haired man. Farron felt the hands working on his clothing and grinned as he tilted his head to better angle the kiss while helping remove the cloth that covered his own body, shifting off the bed to let his pants slide to the floor, even as the other whimpered at the loss of contact into the kiss.

 

When all of his clothing was discarded, Farron slid back fully onto the bed, letting out a grunt as the smaller man pushed him down and he looked up as Hestor straddled him. The smaller man was panting and flushed in the moonlight. The ambassador couldn’t help but moan as his hands slid up the other’s side, watching Hestor arch and his head fall back as he let out a low moan of pleasure that sounded almost like a person long denied anything; the sound was low, husky, demanding and yet pleading at the same time.

 

Their bodies writhed in the moonlight, pleasure filling them both as gasps, moans and keens of pleasure filled the air. White Farron knew that the other was a responsive, sometimes bold, partner for pleasure, the bites, shifts and fingers digging in was like a man starved and it drove the blond further into pleasure. Time lost all meaning for the two and Farron didn’t care, the other man’s soul was near singing, an ethereal sound that rose in pitch and tempo at times, others a low, slow pleased hum when their bodies slowed but were no less embroiled in passion.

 

He didn’t realize the words that fell from his lips, but shuddered when both finally fell into bliss, neither aware of the bright golden wings that flared to life as they finally fell into a sated sleep.

 

When warmth settled across his skin, farron groaned, realizing it was sunlight. His arm was curled around a warm body and he tried to recall the evening before as he felt...contentment. Baby blue eyes slowly opened and there, curled into him was Hestor...in the daylight. His eyes went wide as he slowly sat up, chuckling softly at the soft whine. He had to go soon but paused at the familiar magical crest upon the Celestial mage’s chest, blue eyes blowing wide when he realized what it was. His lips curled into a grin as his hand slid out, gently brushing back the silver hair. He’d seen the mark before, after Lucy and Kaleb had mated, knew what it meant and he let out a breath.

 

~)~)~)~)~

 

The Fact that the Xing Matriarch had let Hestor leave had been a shock, but she’d pat his cheek and spoken to him quietly before turning and letting them know that she would notify them of the children when they were born...and promptly shooed them away.

 

“So about your aunt…”

 

Hestor slowly looked at Vander, the man having a biscuit stick in his mouth and arched an eyebrow, “I know nothing.” he grinned and both men watched as he walked onto the airship, crunching the stick and using only his tongue to keep ahold of it.

 

Vander blinked slowly, “that...was kind of hot.”  
  
“Mine,” Farron purred as he looked at Vander and then chuckled as his brother held up his hands.

 

Vander grinned, “Yeah, yeah I know..just saying.” He shrugged a bit, “so...gonna be the dad of six soon.”

 

Farron shrugged slightly as they walked, “it’s fine, I wanted a big family anyway.”

 

Vander laughed, “six little mini-pricklies running around.”

 

“Six grandchildren for Dad to spoil,” Farron smirked as he watched Hestor relax against the railing, eyes half lidded. The strange spots were still along his spine, and they’d figure it out, but it was something that they had time to, he was sure.

 

~)~)~)~)~)~)~)~

 

Farron smiled as they walked towards White Sea, they weren’t necessarily touching, Hestor having hooked their pinkies together as they walked. The Celestial mage was wearing an open backed vest that showed off the still there glowing symbols along his spine and looked at ease for the first time he could ever really recall knowing the man. There was always a tenseness to Hestor, Farron had noticed, even when they had been relaxing with books or playing chess, something right below the surface ready to snap into action.

 

Now? Now the man was at ease and still had that extra, odd catlike grace in his movements. He debated as they walked and then smirked as he pulled the other into a store. Hestor blinked in curiosity before he saw the jewelry and arched an eyebrow.

 

Farron Smirked, “I think Mating at least deserves a promised band.” He leaned in, lightly kissing the man and letting out a low sound as the other slid into his space, arms curling around his neck. This open affection was so new when it came to them both, but Farron didn’t mind it. Hestor didn’t continue for long before he pulled away and Farron smiled as he cupped the other’s cheek before letting his hand slide down.  When he didn’t feel discomfort from the touch, he nodded towards the displays, warning Sercha off with a look for the moment.

 

He could feel the anxiety in the man, simmering beneath the surface. He’d seen it often when the man’s guard had briefly dropped and he squeezed the other’s hand gently. They both found a promised band and he had to give a firm look to Sercha as they were done and then continued on to the guild. “You ready for this?”

 

Hestor let out a low sound, “I never planned on coming back.”

  
  
Farron smiled as he lightly leaned in, nuzzling the other, keeping the affectionate touches light and smiled as the other relaxed into him, “well, I’m an ambassador...I don’t think we’ll be staying in one place for too long.”

 

The Celestial mage let out a soft chuckle, “even with…?”

 

“Even with,” Farron spoke softly, “Dad took us with him all the time. It was a good learning experience for us.”

 

As they walked towards the guild, even he felt the eyes on them and he could feel Hestor’s anxiety rise before he felt the flicker of magic and chuckled as he felt paws on his shoulders and reached up, petting the now feline on his shoulder, smirking at the golden band of fur around the right front paw, “Cute.”

 

Hestor sneezed and then managed to balance on Farron’s shoulder as the man walked. Farron could feel the amusement from the other and let his hand curl up and he scratched Hestor behind the ear. He smiled as he walked into the guildhall and then waved when he saw Zen near the doors to the practice rings. He walked towards his little brother, stepping quickly so that they could all continue outside.

 

Zen opened his mouth and then closed it, he shook his head when Farron got close and the two started to walk outside, “you know your cat…”

 

Farron smirked, “isn’t actually a cat? Yes, I know.”

 

“Good,” Zen looked at the feline, “he seems more agreeable this way.”

  
  
Hestor sneezed and glowered at Zen before the magic curled around him swirling and then he was curled against Farron’s side, “Hardly.”

 

“Nice to see you again, too,” Zen looked amused as he stood there, “So...you need to practice…”

 

Hestor nodded, “he will get it and learn well.”

 

“So what can you do when you’re a cat?” Zen looked at the smaller man, amused.

 

Hestor looked at Zen for a long moment, features cross, “...i’m a fucking cat. I can’t even access my magic. I look fucking adorable. That’s it.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	109. Stability

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I've been...not about. A lot has been going on in the backend of the Fanfiction community and I don't condone it at all. I don't condone people attacking each other over OCs. I'm guilty of being a little aggressive with Hestor, but after working and developing him for as long as I did, I see him as my little Prickly and I'm defensive. asking permission, getting a character correct while taking your own spin on it is important. if you go somewhere completely out of left field to how they are?
> 
> Also, given the background work I'm doing with a few friends on Celestial Keys, i'd like to encourage everyone to look into the Major current constellations, and ancient ones, to see what is out there. look at the stories behind them, see what you see in them, take from them. The Stars, their formations in the sky, how people have changed what they represent? these are things that are amazing stories, let your imagination run when you look over these myths, these other things, expand yourself as you write.

Their kind relied on stability for things, it was a fact they all knew. Finding someone to help them become stable was something that their magic constantly searched for. He’d found stability, but the man, like most Boscans was open with pleasure and relationships. He could have said something, but part of him felt he didn’t deserve it. He was pretending to sleep again as he listened to the conversation between his guildmaster and the man’s latest other half, an airship captain that very much made a show of every time she came.

 

“Doesn’t it bother you that he stays there?”

 

Kaleb let out a low hum, “not really, he’s my mage and it makes him happy.”

 

Hestor heard the disapproving sound and he wanted to say something, but he didn’t dare show he was awake, keeping his breathing even as he relaxed in the sunlight on the bay window seat. He didn’t much care for the woman, but if he was honest, he didn’t much care for a lot of people.

 

“Makes sharing pleasure in your office a bit hard,” The woman trailed off and Hestor wanted to snort. He wouldn’t admit that he’d starting checking to see when her ship was docked just to be a pain in her ass and lay there. He would be damned if that woman would defile this office. In a decade it had become his sanctuary from the world when he wanted to be in the guild without being in his apartment.

 

Hestor heard Kaleb give a faint sigh, they both knew that if asked, he’d leave for a bit, but the man never seemed to want to bother him during one of his naps. This was something he was grateful for, especially during this time of the month, when the new moon ‘hung’ in the sky. Nights were never pleasant for him when the new moon was in the sky; while he couldn’t sleep well during the full moon, it was because the celestial energy just ran rampant in him...during the New moon though? The New moon made it so that there was a lack of celestial energy, a lack of light that even a single sliver of the moon gave him to help with the darkest thoughts that crossed his mind.

 

“You indulge him a lot,” The woman spoke and her voice became curious, “is he a Pet and you’re just not trusting me enough to open up and tell me?”

 

“What? No, it’s nothing like that.” Hearing the offense in Kaleb’s tone, he decided that he needed out of there and let out a low sound, rolling over.

 

He slowly opened his eyes, being as relaxed as he could until he saw the woman and his eyes narrowed. Hestor sat up and then nodded to kaleb before he stood and strode towards the door.  He didn’t look back, even at the curious call of his name from Kaleb. His shoulders slumped when he finally got to the stairs to take him to his guild apartment. He needed a few things as he tried to think of what he should do.  He could take a job, search for one in the system to see if anything looked good, but at the same time, with his emotions at their low point, he knew it was bad to do so...he’d be prone to sacrificial stupidity if he was at one of his low points.

 

The man grabbed a bag he had set aside for personal trips, then sighed as he shook his head, turning and picking up his com. He stopped on the way out, telling Thane to let Kaleb know that he was going to take at least two weeks away to hunt for keys and then slipped down into the main guildhall.  He didn’t look around much, just focusing on getting fresh air and out for a few days. He debated and then started walking when he got out of the guild grounds. He needed to clear his head and there were a few things that he could do. His nose curled when he finally got to the outskirts of the city and called out Equuleus without a thought, climbing onto the back of the spirit before clicking his tongue and letting the equine spirit run, the only direction given was ‘southeast’.

 

Hestor just ‘went’, sleeping when he got tired, walking when Equuleus wasn’t available. He had Pegasus and Monoceros, but he didn’t want to fly and the unicorn spirit was one that he mostly brought out during the full moon, her abilities boosted at that time, that and while he loved and respected his spirits, she enjoyed teasing him a lot. During his wandering, he just let his mind be, let it wander. The few times his com had lit up, he’d answered it and snorted in distaste, simply saying he felt a key pulling and that he’d be back when the pull went away or he was needed. Teleport mages were a thing.

 

It was a lie, but he needed the time away from society, away from people. Growing up in a village that coexisted with nature like his was, he found a strange serenity when being out in nature. The man wasn’t sure how far he wandered, or really where he was, but two weeks by spirit and foot had taken him quite far. He’d not realized he’d wandered into stella until he had entered a village and heard the whispers. He’d retreated back into the countryside and pulled out a capelet with a hood, putting it on so that he could just continue to wander. 

 

He followed the shoreline though and eventually paused when the terrain started to subtly change. The man made camp when he found a cave in one of the hills and then let out a hum, working with his com to figure out exactly where he was and his nose curled when he realized he’d wandered just a bit too close to Joya. Part of him wondered if he should have wandered the Grass Sea for his time away, but ‘Southeast’ had been his instinct and he’d followed it. He would sleep on it, figure out where he’d go from there.

 

Morning gave him no clarity and Hestor groaned as he made sure everything was taken care of. The fire pit tended to properly before he stood in the air and stretched. He glanced towards where he could see the ocean and then moved towards it. When he eventually got there, the celestial mage moved to sit on the sand and just watch the waves. He let out a low hum in thought, old tales coming to mind as he relaxed and just shook his head. The man changed into his swimming gear and then took a breath before wading into the water. Eventually he just started swimming away from the shoreline; if he needed something, his requip space had what he needed, but for now...he was just swimming, letting himself enjoy the water.

 

On a whim, he took a breath and dove, letting himself get lost beneath the water and just study what he could see. He dove as far down as he could, sliding along in the water and letting his fingers barely brush against fish as they swam past. His eyes danced in delight as he felt, more than heard, the whales off in the distance and turned in the water to see if he could spot them. When he saw the massive water dwellers, he couldn’t help the almost childlike fascination. A few kicks and he barely broke the surface to saturate his lungs again before diving back down and moving towards the creatures. He kept his distance, not getting too close on his own and almost laughed as the thin whales seemed to come towards him. He readied himself until he realized they were baleen whales and shifted in the water as they came close, his hand sliding out to brush against one as it swam past. 

 

He absently mused that, if he hadn’t become a working mage, maybe he would have gone into marine biology, a degree he’d been lacksidacially putting off finishing. He let himself relax as the pod continued on and then kicked up, letting himself rise to the surface again to take breaths of air. His head rested back and he let the sunlight curl across his features before he heard a shout from the shoreline and frowned. His head turned and then he summoned Delphinus to get to the shore faster.  He wanted to roll his eyes and groan as he saw the teleport mage waiting for him.

 

Hestor waded out of the water after giving the spirit a light pat on the flank and didn’t say anything as he got to the sand and pulled a towel out of requip space, patting his hair, “I’m going to guess I’m needed?”

 

“Yes, your team has a mission.”

 

Hestor gave a faint sigh and nodded, “Alright, let me get dressed.” Maybe, he mused, he should think about finishing that degree that he’d been working on for the last five years...it would give him a bigger reason to wander.

 

~)~)~))~)~)~

 

The mission hadn’t been hard, mostly because the team worked well together and despite it taking two weeks, he was glad to be ‘home’. The man sighed as he settled in for the evening, laying out on his bed and then rolling onto his stomach to lay across one of his pillows. It had been a week since they’d gotten back and he’d been semi-restless, wanting to go out again, but he couldn’t make another excuse right now. 

 

He woke at his alarm, yet again feeling warm; not temperature wise but just...warm in his soul. He couldn’t explain it as he lay there, rolling over and turning the alarm off. The man stared up at the canopy of his bed and then made a face before shoving himself out of bed. He didn’t want to get up, get out of bed but he forced himself from the dark bed sheets and pulled the curtains back. He took the time to carefully make his bed, checking it to make sure it was perfect before grabbing his things to start his morning off with a swim.

 

The dream that he’d woken from had the residual feeling of laying in the sun in a window seat after lunch and he smiled softly to himself. It was an odd feeling to wake up to it, but at the same time, it made him think that it was going to be a decent day. He hoped at least, because he knew that one wrong move and his mind would go into a dark place; one shift in the heavens and he could spiral. He gave a faint sigh, shaking the thoughts away before he made his way down towards the gym and the pool. He had to clear his head a bit more and swimming always did that for him.

  
  


Very few people were ever in the pool this early, which hestor liked. It gave him privacy while he swam and he coveted his privacy. His nose twitched as he put his towel on a lounge and then stretched his body one last time before taking a few running steps and diving into the pool. He pushed himself hard for almost forty minutes before the sound of someone else getting into the water made him twist and he blinked as he tread the water. He hadn’t expected anyone else, so the sound had caught him off guard enough to make him break out of his pace.

 

It didn’t take him too long to recognize the honey blond hair, the silver haired man moving to heft himself up and out of the water. The few moments of idleness in the water had made his mind aware of his body being ready to get out of the water.  He tilted his head, watching the ambassador as he swam and slowly rubbing his legs, not wanting them to cramp due to his own forgetting of the passage of time.

 

“Are you alright, Hestor?”

 

The voice started him out of his thoughts and then the celestial mage cleared his throat, “lost track of time swimming.” He gave a small, if slightly crooked, smile to Farron as he sat there, “not abnormal if I need to clear my mind.”

 

The Celestial mage would be a fucking Idiot if he didn’t admit that every one of the Pradesh children were stunning, even Bickslow...if the damn man would get rid of that stupid Tri-hawk that he wore in Fiore, even Emzadi and Xally were beautiful women. He couldn’t help but swallow as Farron put his hands on the pool ledge on either side of his body, “if you need to talk…”

 

Hestor smiled, a softer smile, at the concern in the other’s features, “Thank you, I know, Farron.” he brought a hand up, brushing his dripping hair back from his face, “it’s just been a long few weeks.” 

 

Farron nodded a bit, watching the other before letting out a low hum, “if you’re free tonight…” he let the question trail off, tilting his head slightly.

 

Hestor debated for a moment as he sat there. He truly didn’t make too many plans overall for his free time, picking up books, reading with scotch and just generally expanding what he knew as often as he could, sharing pleasure with a select few or meditating. The Celestial mage gave a small nod, “I am.” he could have talked with Kaleb, but that airship captain was in town again and she grated on his nerves.

 

“Why don’t we talk over dinner?” Farron smiled softly as he continued to simply tread the water and hold onto the side of the pool.

 

Hestor took a moment to decide, but the hopeful look in those baby blue eyes made him give a small nod, “alright, seven?”

 

“Six?” Farron grinned at the other man, trying to extend the time he would get with him.

 

Steel blue eyes rolled as Hestor chuckled, “Fine, Six.”

 

~)~)~))~)~

  
  
  


Hestor was walking through the guildhall when he heard his name called, the man pausing and looking over his shoulder. He gave a small smile to Kaleb and waited for the man. It would have been easier to have the conversation mentally, but he realized the man probably had a reason and rarely questioned it. It probably had something to do with making him more ‘approachable’ to the rest of the guild.  “Yes, Master Kaleb?” his lips quirked into an almost teasing smirk at the scowl from Kaleb.

 

“Hes…” Kaleb gave him an unamused look and shook his head slightly, “I’ve got some books that I thought you might want to look at and was wondering if you were busy tonight?”

 

“I-” Hestor went to talk only to have annoyance flash in his eyes as the familiar voice of the airship captain that he wanted to strangle cut through the air, calling out to Kaleb, “it seems you are, Master Kaleb.” he gave a faint smile, “perhaps tomorrow, if you are not busy.”

 

Kaleb smiled tensely and nodded, watching the man walk away as the Captain was at his side, talking, but he was barely paying attention. He’d been trying to talk to the man for nearly a month. He didn’t know why Hestor had been so standoffish since he’d woken up that day in his office, but he had an idea and disliked the idea of his...friend...being so distant after how close they had gotten.

 

Kaleb felt a bit of ire rise in him as he watched the main doorway and saw Farron...and the warm smile on Hestor’s features as the two started speaking. He...almost felt jealousy towards his older brother. In the last few months, he’d lost those interactions with the Celestial Mage because of the woman that he was currently with. He knew her plans, knew her mind, but he had yet to actually end the relationship because they simply spent too little time together. It was enough, however, that a friendship he cherished was diminishing to a point that he didn’t like and it almost felt like  his oldest brother was sliding into a place at the man’s side that would overtake the position in the man’s life that he’d worked so hard for...with an utter lack of effort.

 

~)~)~)~)~

 

Not having to explain small nuances of his magic to Farron made it very easy to converse with the eldest Pradesh and, while he enjoyed his talks with Kaleb, adored being able to teach him? There was an ease that talking with Farron easily brought out. The man didn’t make him have to say that it wasn’t something he couldn’t speak of, he knew because of the time he’d had with his mother. Hestor was stretched out on the plush rug, looking at the chess set on the floor between them. Dinner had been wonderful and while they were still drinking, he was relaxed and just starting to get enough of a buzz that he was narrow eyed and looking at the board in concentration while trying to figure out a way out of the trap that Farron had put him in.

 

Farron looked amused, he could hear the man’s soul as it sang in thought. He’d always noticed that Hestor had seemed almost poignantly torn around Kaleb. There was an ease and contentment there, but Kaleb had this small issue where he was cautious in so much. Hestor wouldn’t just start something and Farron knew it, though he could hear the difference in the man’s soul around his brother, there was a cautiousness that came with his magic. He didn’t want to put himself out there, say something only to have Kaleb be as, and Farron hated to say it, arms length about a relationship with him. He recalled his mother talking about how that bond with a person lifted a Celestial Mage up, helped their hearts, their minds, their souls. It wasn’t something that they just...threw themselves out there for typically.

 

Ganier had written in her journal about her friend, Layla and how the woman had hastily thrown herself into a relationship and opened up. There wasn’t a lack of love, but...there was a lack of compromise. His mother’s friend had been forced to give up her want to be a working mage, to grow in her magic because of her husband. He’d watched her daughter grow, seeing the stifling the man had done with her, then seen her go almost rampant when she’d gotten away from him. He’d wished they would have been able to help her, but all he could do was prod Kaleb to reach out to Fairy Tail to help the girl. Supposedly they were godsiblings through his mother and father, but Jude Heartfilia was a man that kept them out with an iron fist. 

 

Hestor was well educated and had learned to fight, learned to hold his own as much as he could and while Farron knew there was an attachment there? He also knew that Hestor couldn’t commit to that first step without being fully sure...and with Kaleb having him close for so long and not doing anything? Farron thought it was a damn shame because he’d sat with the other man during rainstorms in front of the fireplace reading together and he’d seen such a tender side that Hestor locked up because of having to keep so much inside.

 

“Give up yet?” Farron asked in amusement, chin propped up on a hand and he smirked at the defiant look upon the defined features of the other man.

 

Hestor let out an inelegant sound as he sipped his scotch again, mumbling in a petulant voice that made Farron smile a bit broader, “No.”

 

“Are you sure?” Farron enjoyed teasing the other man. When they were alone, the reactions were nowhere as explosive as they were in the guildhall.

 

Hestor opened his mouth to snap and then sighed as he hung his head, “...alright, I give.” he knew when to give up. He’d been staring at the board for nearly fifteen minutes trying to think of someway to get out of the situation the chess game had backed him into, but he’d found nothing. He looked at the other and then took a small breath as Farron leaned over, finger moving to lightly tip his king over and the man licked his lips. He shook his head as he shifted to sit up, pushing himself up fully and running a hand through his hair as he sipped his drink. He preferred to keep his hair shorter, but between the mission and just being listless lately, it had grown down past his shoulders. He shocked himself when he yawned and looked at the clock, snorting, “we’ve been playing this game for over three hours.” He shook his head and moved to his feet with an agile grace that came from more than training just in agility, he had Rowan to thank for some of his flexibility.

 

Farron watched the silver haired man stand and carefully went about putting the chess set away, “we did. I enjoyed it, I hope you did as well.” he inwardly grinned as he heard the other’s soul hum with a joyful contentment.

 

“I did,” Hestor smiled as he stretched his body after finishing his drink, “I’ve been tense lately, feeling...I don’t know...a trapped feeling.” his nose curled a bit and then he shook his head, “awhile really...since Zen was rescued.” 

 

There was that strange pain and yearning that he’d come to get used to feeling from Hestor. They’d all looked into what they could about archangel magic and how it tied to other things. Knowing that mating with an archangel would literally free a celestial mage to be more must have been trying and disappointing to the silver haired mage. Hestor understood choice and had offered a bond to the larger man to protect him, between that and the bands that Kaleb had made, they protected Zen from various mages that tried to ply Zen. He’d seen Hestor come flying into the guildhall, decked out in a celestial Armor set that he’d nearly died to acquire and throw poor mages away from his brother and out into the practice rings outside; tearing into them like a wild animal that took three people to drag him off the other mage. Hestor did not take lightly to the promise he’d given Zen to make sure that until the man was ready to find love, to find true love, he’d protect his options and ability to chose. Farron pursed his lips as he finally stood, “if I can help in anyway, Hes…”

 

Hestor looked up at the taller man, opening his mouth slightly before smiling a sad smile, “Thank you, Farron, but I’m unsure that you would be able to help.” He took a breath, “it’s one of those magic things.”

 

Farron understood that and wished he could help the other. He damn well knew what Hestor dealt with more things than probably Kaleb knew. He’d seen many a request come across his desk from the Tribunal of Stella, requesting diplomatic meetings with Hestor. He’d talked with the man enough to know what he was keeping from Kaleb about trips close to Stella, into Stella and some times when he’d had run ins with that side of his family. In Fact, he still recalled hestor stumbling into the consulate building in Daevale with a broken ankle and wrist, refusing to say how it had happened other than ‘family’. “Hes?”

 

The celestial mage looked at Farron and shook his head, “I can’t...grow magically further than I am...without...mating an archangel.” The man’s voice was soft and his brow furrowed, “and I won’t do that to Zen.”

 

Farron pursed his lips, “is that in a book that’s accessible to others?”

 

Hestor nodded, “it is..” He let out a breath, “I’m...stagnant where I am right now...and on top of the feeling...it just stings that I’ve found my limit. Nothing will change that.” It wouldn’t. Hestor respected Zen, respected his family far too much to do what his magic called for a few times already. 

 

Farron knew the man’s drive, had been in his life off and on enough to see how hard the celestial mage drove himself to be better, to be more and he could feel the ache from Hestor’s soul at just that admission.  The sound mage gently reached out with a hand, sliding his knuckles gently along the other’s cheek and murmuring, “let me help you relax.”

 

Hestor opened his mouth and then shut it, looking at the other man for a long moment before giving a small sigh. He was stressed, he was tired, everything ached and he had no hope of it ever going away because there was exactly  **one** archangel mage and he could never, would never, risk the cherished friendships that he had for power, especially with Zen’s preferences. Once upon a time? Before he’d been drug into the Pradesh Circle? When he was a young boy scared of his own spirits? When he hadn’t had the One Magic snap the links in his soul that would keep him sane? Yes, he would have, if only for a need to satisfy the hunger of the Sisters. He let out a low sound as he absently leaned into the hand; he could go to Rowan, knew the other would accept what he needed to feel free from the ache.

 

Farron saw flashes of soul deep memories that went with an ease of the ache the man had and then moved to gently lead the other towards the master bedroom of the suite, “let’s see if we can’t relax you.”

 

Hestor didn’t protest. If there was someone other than Kaleb he felt at ease around, it was Farron and he let himself relax and ease things out of his mind...at least for a bit. He knew the ache would return, but at the moment, he hoped pleasure would out weight it.

 

~)~)~)~)~)~)~

  
  


The silver haired man slowly stretched, letting out a low hum as he woke to the smell of cinnamon and was half sprawled over a body. He had that content ache that came from a good BDSM session and his mind slowly threaded back to the evening before. He couldn’t help but arch as the hand on his hip slowly slid up his spine and the man slowly pulled back, blinking blearily as his own steel blue eyes met baby blue. He was unsure as he lay there if he should say something but slowly started to shift away with a soft ‘morning’.

 

“You don’t have to go,” Farron spoke softly, sliding his arm around the other as he sat up himself. When there was no resistance to the hold, he carefully tugged the smaller man back, “promise.”

 

Hestor let out a small whine at the words, letting himself be drawn back against the ambassador. He normally didn’t stay after he woke up, not even with Rowan on those evenings, but the warmth of the night prior, the letting go, it had lulled him into a state of not wanting to leave, even though his rational mind was screaming for him to get up and go. The fingers in his hair settled him a bit further into a relaxed state and he let out a sigh. He didn’t know why his emotions were trying to be everywhere that morning, but he could feel them rolling as he curled onto his side.

 

Farron smiled as he felt the Celestial mage calm back down, blue eyes soft as the man seemed to half drift and he relaxed himself. “Better?”

 

“Mmhmm,” Hestor murmured as he lay there, eyes half opening, “Thank you...I have…”

 

“Emotional issues, I’m aware.”

 

Hestor sighed softly and rolled over, looking at Farron. He lay there, just relaxing and letting a hand curl up, “Stars, thank you, Farron, for being here.”

 

“I’ll always be here,” He gave Hestor a small grin, “for as long as you want.” he gently took the man’s wrist, bringing it to his lips and lightly kissing the reddened skin, “we’ll get salve from Rowan.” He heard the soft sound from the stellar mage’s soul, watching the eyes close. He hadn’t thought they’d go as far as they did, but he was glad that he had tested the limits of the other man the night before. He’d seen and heard things that were more breathtaking than he had heard from the smaller man’s lips and soul.

 

Farron let the man relax and murmured, “I’ve been putting off putting in a request to Kaleb for an assistant, I’m going on a trip to Midi soon and I don’t need someone like Van or Cris with me.” he trailed off, letting it sink in. Kaleb had been complaining about Hestor just roaming the past half year for no apparent reason, but things were starting to click from their talks. Hestor’s magic was pushing against him, pushing him to a point that he might do something he’d regret with Zen. “It would be for six months, not just there, but Sin, possibly Enca.”

 

Hestor let out a low hum, “oh?”

 

Farron chuckled at how relaxed the man was and let his hand slowly curl through the silver hair, “I might be inclined to include a key and a book on celestial magic…” he watched the steel blue eyes snap open and dance with delight. 

 

“Mm, now you’re trying to make me stare at Kaleb until he assigns it to me.” 

 

Farron leaned in, lightly capturing Hestor’s lips and murmuring, “Interested?” he’d already argued with his brother over it, but having a bored wandering Celestial mage versus having one that was able to move about and be under monitoring had been his reasoning behind it, one that he knew his brother couldn’t refute, especially with all the wandering Hestor had done in the last year.

 

Hestor smiled into the kiss, letting himself at least feel a lot more free than he had in months as he let his hands slowly curl up and slide into the honey blond hair before murmuring, “sounds delightful.”

 

~)~)~)~))~

  
  
  


Hestor was packing, pursing his lips as he grabbed a few things. The Job had been assigned no more than a few hours after he’d parted with Farron and he’d been quietly arraigning to have things sorted and dealt with before it even came up. He moved into his bathroom, checking on the wall that was converted to a coral tank. It was one of the few things that he had cultivated over the years and he’d worked with Beck and Rowan to make sure it stayed healthy. He already had plenty of plans in place if something happened to him for the two to help get the small reef he’d ‘grown’ over the last five years put back into the bay of his home village. He smiled as he put a hand on the glass. His eyes danced as he saw two little specks of deep purple and grinned at the two clams that were already there, “congratulations, you two.”

 

Now he’d have to tell Beck to fully watch the reef. The man carefully checked the mechanism that kept the entire environment stable and ‘fed’, making sure to write down the levels on the small clipboard before taking a breath and nodding. He would come back to his reef being more teeming with life than before and that made him warm inside. He heard the door open, knowing only a few people would come in like that and moved out of the bathroom, nodding to Beck.

 

“Alright, Beasty, I’ll be gone for six months,” Hestor gave the other his customary bland look, “Try not to kill my reef.”

 

Beck chuckled softly and shook his head. There may have been tension between them often, but he was used to dealing with his prickly teammate to know what the man actually was saying, “it’ll be fine, Porcupine.”

 

“...the clams reproduced.”

 

The beasmaster could almost feel the giddiness from the man, he’d had the clams for nearly two years and had just recently started to regulate the water temperature to try and see if he could get the clams to do so, “I’ll take care of them.” he was fairly certain that man wasn’t going to use them as food, but keep them more for a reminder of home, otherwise, the silver haired man’s prickly and annoyable nature would have already claimed them as a snack. “Are you going to see if they produce pearls?”

 

Hestor looked thoughtful, “yes, I don’t want to use them for food, I know it’s possible to harvest the pearls without killing the clams. We do it back home, releasing them back into the waters.”

 

Beck pursed his lips, “they’re one of two species of Clams that produce pearls, aren’t they?”   
  


Hestor grinned as he moved to check a few things around the apartment, including that one door was locked  tightly, “They are, that is why there is value in them.” his eyes were soft, “anyway, keep them safe, Beasty.”

 

“I will, I always do when you wander off and Rowan will make sure the plants in your little reef are healthy,” He paused, “are you sure about this…what about…?”

 

Hestor pursed his lips and sighed, “this relationship has lasted months, he doesn’t seem inclined to end it. I’m sick of waiting, Beasty. I can’t...I can’t take it anymore.” 

 

Both of them were aware of the draw the smaller man had to Kaleb, Beck had seen it but the mindbender seemed oblivious to it. The beastmaster had seen Hestor about to take that step a few times after being gone on solo missions, only to have one of Kaleb’s many lovers show up and make him snap back into his proverbial shell. The green haired man had watched for years as the other had worked up the courage over and over again to try only to have the guildmaster’s actions make it seem like he only wanted the other as a close friend and the pain was only visible in a few places and never around the platinum blond man. He knew that Rowan knew and was certain that Presca knew, but all three were tight lipped and not wanting to truly break the trust that the half-stellan had shown by revealing that ‘crack’ in his social armor.

 

With his soulmate in his life, and his natural urge to just people watch, he’d seen the prickly man pine when Kaleb was with someone and steel himself to finally say something to their guildmaster only to have Kaleb enter another long term, if only partially serious, relationship. That had sent Hestor right back into his proverbial ball of spines...and had happened a lot over the last seven years or so. The celestial mage was hurting, which was why the mini-coral reef in his bathroom had become a project for the man; Beck wouldn’t deny that he’d suggested it to give the man an outlet for some more positive feelings after having an emotional rollercoaster ride attempting to take that step off the chasm into telling Kaleb how he felt.

 

“Just stay safe, man, really,” Beck smiled at the smaller man.

 

Hestor shrugged, “I’m part of an entourage in a diplomatic mission...only so much staying safe there.”

 

“You know what I mean.”

 

Hestor gave a small smile and a nod, taking a breath and looking around again, “I will, Beasty, I will.”

 

“I’ll lock up after I check on things,” Beck watched the man put the things he was taking into requip, steel himself and leave the apartment. He did what he said he would, smiling fondly at the well tended small ecosystem that the man had created.

 

~)~))~)~)~)~

 

Hestor let out a low sound as he walked to the sky port. He’d been in and out to talk to Thane as quickly as he could, pausing when he saw the airship captain again and arched an eyebrow at the smug look on her features before he strode past her. He had his pride and he wouldn’t allow the woman to rankle him. He was at the doorway before he looked back into the guildhall, taking a moment before he saw Kaleb barely through the doors to the balcony that looked over the guildhall, watching the woman jump on him and turned, striding out.

 

Steel blue eyes flashed in resolve. He was done. He’d made up his mind. He was sick of not knowing how the other thought of him and he was damn well done waiting. He hated the thought of leaving that thread of fate hanging, but...it had caused him so much pain and he just...couldn’t any more. He refused to be held at arm’s length if he took that leap. It hurt, oh, how much it hurt to make that decision, but the uncertainty, the constant attempts to take that step and miss the window of opportunity because of his own fear hurt more and was tearing at him. He would do this six month mission and if things progressed with Farron, they progressed with Farron. The man wasn’t going to hang onto something that gave him pain any more.

 

He eventually made his way to the skyport, feeling a bit lighter with each step away from the guild, feeling the loss settle in his heart, but he couldn’t go on like this. He had been feeling the Hall licking at the back of his mind and knew what that meant. Knew that if he didn’t find something stable and soon he was going to end up losing himself and becoming catatonic to the Hall. his steps slowed when he saw the Saberfox and Farron, his features softening a bit at the warmth that filled him. It wasn’t the soft easing warmth that he felt from Kaleb, but as if he were laying in a window after lunch.

 

“Hestor! You made it!” Farron grinned as he saw the man and Hestor couldn’t help but give a small genuine smile to the Ambassador.

 

“Of course,” Hestor shrugged a bit, feeling the tension in his body ease a bit more, “I said I would be.”

 

“You didn’t have any issues getting things taken care of on such short notice?”

 

The two started onto the airship and the celestial mage shook his head, “no, not at all, a call to Rowan and Beck and my reef will be taken care of.”

 

“Reef?” Farron furrowed his brow, “I didn’t know about that.”

 

Hestor smiled softly, “I’ve been working on it a few years. My thesis.”

 

“In what?” Farron had seen the man with a few odd books here and there, he recalled the man talking about doing a PhD course, but he always seemed to steer the conversation away from it after it came up.

 

“Marine Biology..Coral Ecology to be more precise, I grew up around one afterall,” Hestor chuckled and then tilted his head, “so which cabin will be mine?”

 

Farron smirked, “I was thinking the connecting one to mine.”

 

The Celestial mage chuckled and gave a bit of a flourishing bow, “as you assistant, it is a good place.

 

The two laughed as they walked below deck to get the Celestial mage settled away.

 

~)~))~)~)~)~)

 

Hestor had a sharp mind and Farron saw it more and more. The formal dinner in Midi had caught him a bit off guard as the man seemed to drop the mask he almost always wore, being aloof, but genuine, especially as he stood with a group of ecologists. Ermine had stayed with the Ambassador, ‘curiously’ sniffing at anything the man ate or drank before he did so. But he was currently watching the Celestial mage actually smile warmly as he talked, eyes dancing as marine life was being talked about.

 

It was an ecology summit and he was glad that he had brought the man, watching him engage and have notes ready for him to work with. Finding Hestor asleep in one of the armchairs had been a point that made the man appreciate how hard the other actually worked. He’d forced the other to take a day of rest before things started, simply to make the circles under his eyes from a lack of sleep go away somewhat. Now he was watching the man animatedly talk and look relaxed, even more so than back in Pelerno during their talks and shared nights. He watched Hestor pull out his com and flip through something, before showing it, focusing his magic, he could hear Hestor talking about how long the project had taken and each step.

 

He started a bit when the steel blue eyes looked over at him and the small smile grew a bit, lighting the normally wary eyes with delight. Farron could be honest, it took his breath away and he slowly walked over after excusing himself from his current conversation. “Everything alright?”

 

One of the women smiled warmly, “perfectly! I can’t believe he did this in six years. Do you plan to reintroduce it?”

 

Hestor smiled and nodded, “yes. I have water from Eventide Bay regularly brought in, so that the coral will not get any sort of shock when it’s time for it to be placed back.”

 

“The clams?”

 

Hestor blushed a bit, “I picked those out specifically.”

 

“They must have cost a fortune and to have two! I can’t imagine what you went through.”

 

Hestor’s hand went up, tucking a stray bit of silver hair back, “It’s my home village, they support this, it allows us to have a better idea how to preserve the coral and the clams there. I actually dove and chose those two.”

 

Farron smiled warmly as the group started asking him about the village the man grew up, grinning into his drink as the man looked prideful if embarrassed to have such attention over where he grew up. The Ambassador knew that outsiders were rarely welcomed, the bay actually protected fiercely by the village just like Bosco protected the Grass Sea.

 

~)~)~))~)~

 

In three weeks, Farron had gotten to see a much more relaxed Hestor, not just because of sharing pleasure, but because the man was relaxed. There was still that bit of heaviness in his soul, but the man was lighter, the weight that had been slogging him down gone. Farron watched as the man double checked the document he was working on and nodded to himself before letting out a soft sigh.

 

“Done with work?” Farron leaned against the door frame, watching the celestial mage with an arched eyebrow.

 

The other man started, looking up and shaking his head with a soft smile, “Thesis work.” He set his tablet aside, “I think it’s almost done. Then I get to have it reviewed.” He slowly stood, stretching and letting out a small sigh of relief. 

 

“You seem better,” Farron watched the other walk to get a drink out of the small bar in the study.

 

Hestor paused as he held a bottle of scotch in his hand, “...I...am.” he smiled faintly and shook his head, his voice cautious and measured as he spoke, “I...decided to...let go.” He didn’t turn to look at the man, staring at the bottle in his hands, “I...can’t...take it anymore. Yes, I’ve pined for awhile, but...a person has to be realistic. If he’s going to keep lovers at arm’s length...I can’t have that.” 

 

Farron moved behind the other, gently running his hands along Hestor’s arms, “I wouldn’t do that.”

 

The silver haired mage looked up at Farron, smiling softly, “you never do.”

 

He could sense the apprehension in the other man and leaned down, lightly resting their foreheads together, “I mean it, if you’ll let me try.”

 

Steel blue eyes searched soft baby blue orbs for a moment before Hestor murmured, “yes.” the man tilted his head a bit, leaning slightly before they kissed and he let out a low sound. The smaller of the two slowly turned, letting his hands move to curl into the honey blond hair, fisting it gently. When they finally parted, he took a deep breath and smirked.

 

Farron chuckled softly as he looked down at the other, feeling the heaviness just lifting from the other’s soul before he relaxed.He leaned in, gently kissing the other again and murmuring, “let’s get you to bed.”

 

“Just bed?” Hestor murmured into the kiss, relaxing into the taller body, fingers curling into the blond hair and playing with it.   
  
Farron chuckled softly, “tonight, yes, you look exhausted still.” he man laughed at the pout from the other man and then gave him a light kiss, “But...you’ll be in my bed from tonight on...never alone. Always with me.”

 

~)~))~)~)~)~)~

  
  
  
  
  


Hestor slowly woke, eyes opening as he let out a hum, curling into the warmth that he was half sprawled over and let out a soft sigh as he nuzzled into the neck his face was curled against. The moan that the action brought had his mind whirling and his body tensing for a moment before a soothing hand was curling up his spine and things clicked into place as his nose registered the smell of cinnamon and he smiled warmly. 

 

“Morning.” The voice was sleep laden and Hestor let out a low hum against the man’s neck.

 

Hestor hadn’t dreamed the night before, no dreams that still wanted him to go back to White Sea and find that bay window, no eyes that started like the clams he dove for turning light; right now, the smell of cinnamon and a feeling of ease filled him, like he was free for the first time in awhile. The tightness of his magic was still there, but..the rest of the problem was gone. He felt a bit of sadness, having tried to take that step with the guildmaster for so long, but always being just a bit too slow to reach out, but it was eased as he lay there, the last bit of sadness would stay for awhile, but he’d promised himself to move past it, refusing to actually dwell any more, he’d lost...a decade of his life on something that would probably never happen.

 

He let out a soft sound as he slowly stretched and then blinked as Farron shifted, hair curling around them and he blinked sleep laded eyes up at the other. He looked into the other’s eyes and then slowly his hand came up, fingers brushing along the other’s cheek gently as his eyes softened, “morning.”

 

Farron smiled as he leaned down, the two languidly kissing as they woke up, Hestor letting out a low groan as the other fully settled over him before his arms curled up, sliding over the other’s shoulders and long fingers tangling into the honey blond hair as he purred and arched into Farron. The Sound Mage let out a groan into the kiss at the light melody from the other’s soul; there had always been an underlying sad tone, but now that free melody that reminded him of song of the ocean in the dead of the night was upbeat as if there were sailors singing on a boat. He had to truly admit it was a wonderful sound, almost as wonderful as the low, almost needy whine that came out of the man he’d pinned beneath him as the other arched up.

 

His lips turned into a wicked grin as he shifted, pinning the other’s hands with one of his own and looked down with shining eyes full of promise. Farron’s head dipped down and he let his lips curl down over Hestor’s jaw and across the paler expanse of neck and shoulder as their bodies slowly moved against one another. The sound mage listened to the gasps that the arching celestial mage made, moaning in response as he pressed himself down a bit, holding the writhing man against the soft bed. The Ambassador had four months left with the silver haired mage...and he was going to make him forget all about Kaleb.

 

~)~))~)~)~)

 

“I can’t,” Hestor panted, sweat covering his body as every muscle shook.   
  
Farron watched the other, letting out a low moan at the sight before him, “you can, a little more.”

 

Hestor shook his head, gasping as his head fell back and Farron just waited, staying still as the other’s muscles tensed and strained, “i…” Hestor let out a gasp as his body shuddered, “can’t…”

 

The blond’s hand slowly moved up and down the other’s arms, the motions soothing, “you can, come on. Almost there.”

 

Hestor let out an exhausted cry and Farron surged forward, grabbing the weight bar and sliding it into the cups, watching the exhausted man pant as he collapsed, sweating from exertion against the bench. He looked down at the other man and leaned over, slowly kissing along his jaw, “you can, good job.”

 

The celestial mage let out a whine as he flexed his fingers, “my arms feel like jelly.”   
  
Farron chuckled softly as he helped the other man up and then kissed him, “you’ll be fine.”

 

Hestor groaned, just leaning on the other man, “nope, not moving.” He grinned, “can’t make me, unable to move.”

 

Farron arched an eyebrow as his eyes danced, shifting his hands and then grinning as the Celestial mage let out an indignant screech and pulled away, “can’t move, huh?”   
  
Hestor went wide eyed before he took off, “shit, no more!”

 

The Ambassador took off after him, both laughing as they dodged around things, both getting in ghosting touches that sent the other into laughter before they made it back to their shared room, falling onto the bed while gasping and laughing. They eventually settled and Hestor smiled at Farron, “Thank you, I think I needed that.”   
  
Farron let out a low hum and then leaned over the other, kissing him and murmuring, “any time.”

 

Neither of them knew when innocent touches became not so innocent, nor when they’d shed their clothing. By the time they truly came out of the haze of adrenaline they were in it was replaced by passion that had them both gasping and moaning as their bodies arched together. Blunt nails scraped down tanned shoulders as the two moved as one and let themselves all into a slowly built up release.

 

~)~)~))~)~~

 

Time just seemed to fly, the days spent talking, the evenings spent in each other’s arms and neither man minded. Until the last summit was slowly brought to a close, which would take them back to White Sea and Pelerno. Neither man wanted to leave the bed, the work was done, but they wanted to be right there, together, the draw having grown with so much time together.

 

They laid, curled with each other and Hestor sighed, “i don’t want to go back.”

 

“Why?”

 

Hestor lay there and then looked at Farron, “i’ve never felt so free...the ache in my magic goes away a bit, I feel light.”

 

Farron smiled softly as he kissed the other, “Promise with me. Then I’ll have no reason to not make sure you’re with me.”

 

“Mm,” hestor watched the other for a moment, fingers curling out through the honey blond hair and he smiled warmly, “yes.”

 

It was that evening that something different happened, whispered words as the airship was docking. The magic flared over the city as a single cry of pleasure echoed through the airship.

 

~)~))~)~)~

 

Farron woke, feeling content and then when he felt the odd feeling of contentment from beside him that was well beyond what he normally did, he sat up halfway and looked down at the slumbering Celestial mage. His eyes zeroed in on the magical crest on his chest and his eyes went wide. He couldn’t help but gently touch it, watching the smaller man arch up into the touch before gasping and the steel blue eyes went wide. There was a flicker in the steel blue eyes and Hestor looked at the other with shocked eyes as they both felt one another.

 

“Farron?” Hestor’s voice was soft, searching the other’s features as he lay there, one hand shakily coming up to brush along the man’s jaw and into the blond hair, “What…”

 

Farron leaned down, capturing the other’s lips and not caring about anything else as he pressed into the other, both letting out low moans as their magic intermingled, the two unable to stop the feelings and compulsions now that the bond was in place. 

 

It was later, when it was well past noon that they finally stepped off the airship, both seeing the Pradesh family moving towards the dock as they walked, Hestor smiling softly as he hooked their fingers lightly together. Even seeing the man in all white didn’t have that sinking feeling that he thought it would. There was a bit of...loss there, but it was overshadowed by the warmth of the unknown connection to Farron that made him feel like this was where he was supposed to be: by the Ambassador’s side, going around the world.

 

Zen grinned at his brother, “let me see.”

 

Farron arched an eyebrow, “See what?”

 

Hestor tilted his head as he stood there, noticing that the hardened archangel was looking at his chest and he let out a low hum before pulling his shirt aside, “This?”

 

“Shit...you two mated,” Zen’s features split in a huge grin, “Damn.”

 

Hestor looked towards kaleb as he heard a small sound and saw the stricken look in the man’s eyes before he looked away. He wasn’t going to feel guilty over this and not even that old yearning was coming back. He gave a small shrug, “yes, we discussed Promising on the flight back from Enca.” 

 

~)~)~)~)~)~)~

 

“Hes?”

 

Hestor looked over his shoulder and smiled softly to Kaleb, “Master Kaleb.” he saw the pain in those eyes and let out a faint sigh before tilting his head slightly, “what is it?”

 

“I..” Kaleb frowned a bit as he stood there, “I’m happy for you and my brother.”

 

The Celestial Mage didn’t have to be a mind reader to know the man, they’d grown close enough over the years that it was almost second nature. He smiled and then moved to give him a hug, “Thank you, Kaleb, it means a lot.” The warmth from the hug was different than what he had expected and he didn’t expect it to be such a tight hug.

 

“I didn’t…”

 

Hestor pulled back and looked up at the other for a moment, “didn’t what?”

 

Kaleb took a breath, “realize how different it was without you around.”

 

Hestor nodded slightly as he stood there, “I can’t imagine.” He searched those pale eyes for a long moment and then gently cupped the man’s cheek, “we’ll always be friends.” he saw the flinch, it was small, but after being around the other for so long, he picked it up, “none of that sadness, Kaleb. I...couldn’t stay in that window forever, waiting, while everyone around me found relationships.”

 

The air seemed to rush out of the mindbender and he closed his eyes, slumping slightly before nodding, “you’re right.”

 

“Of course I am,” Hestor grinned slightly, though he was watching the man carefully.

 

Kaleb kept his eyes closed as he murmured, “it hurts…”

 

Hestor felt his heart go out, but only in sympathy, “it does...and I’m sorry you have to feel it, Kaleb.”

 

“Did you feel…?”

 

The celestial mage debated and then gave the man a hug before he moved to open the door to his apartment, “for over a decade, every time I thought I could reach out...you had a new lover.” he wasn’t going to sugar coat it, there was no need, not with this man, “after awhile..you lose hope...and I know I’m not...good with my emotions.” He stepped in and looked around, “so...it was both our faults. I kept asking you to meals, to talk...and yet…”

 

Kaleb let out another breath, finally realizing how out of character those actions were and closed his eyes, “I’ll be here...if you need a friend.” The last word was choked as the mindbender took a breath.

 

“Thank you, Kaleb,” Hestor took a breath as he stared around the apartment, “I’ll remember that.” he turned and smiled softly, “I’ve got some things to do...things to check on. I’ll talk to you later.” He gave the man one last hug and watched him go for a moment before closing the door. He felt sad, mostly because of the look on Kaleb’s face, but he was happy, he was stable and he felt a deeper love than he thought he’d ever feel, only to have it returned.

 

~)~))~)~)~)~

  
  


Farron chuckled softly as he watched Hestor come up from beneath the waves. It was interesting to actually get to be within the Village the man grew up in. Eventide bay was well known, but seldom visited because of how protective the people were of everything in the bay. People did come and go, but it was for trading and it created a semi-diverse village. Meeting Ming had been interesting and he’d thought that Hestor had gotten so much from the woman until his father had finally said something, the dry humor flooring Farron. 

 

This was their second trip here in two months. The First had been to reintroduce the grown reef and meet the Celestial Mage’s family and community. This one? This was to check and see if the portion had thrived or died and by the utter joy that Hestor felt...it had been successful. He took a breath as he felt magic and then let out a sound as arms were curling around his neck, reflexively curling his own around the soaking wet man. His blue eyes danced, “you’re happy.”

 

“It’s thriving. I was successful,” Hestor’s eyes danced with delight, “I did it...I found a way to save reefs...it only took six years...but...if we can get samples...I…”

 

Farron kissed the other man until both were breathless, eyes dancing as he pulled back. Hestor’s soul was singing in joy and with love as they stood there, “You did. Congratulations.”

 

There was a soft chuckle that Farron Recognized as Kiran, “good, now, grandchildren, before my ribs start hurting too much to play with them.”

 

Hestor let out a strangled sound and buried his face in Farron’s chest, “FATHER!”

**Author's Note:**

> This is originally from FF.net.
> 
> I'm migrating it over here for safe keeping. If you have Questions and have discord, You can feel free to message me (Dante Haiwindo#0001)
> 
> I own the Story Seeds. These are Free to Use...as LONG as I see what is come from them. A message (a comment here, or a message on Discord - Dante Haiwindo #0001) would be very nice.
> 
> All Pairings are Random. I don't start out looking for a single pairing to go into a Prompt, I take the prompt, sit down with a drink, put on a timer and 5-10 minutes later...what is posted is posted.
> 
> I do not Own Fairy Tail. There would be less abuse that is simply put off as "Comedy"...and the story would be a lot Darker period.
> 
> I do not Own The Pradesh Family, That belongs to Desna1.


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